tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/military-1059/articlesMilitary – The Conversation2019-09-04T11:53:08Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1227042019-09-04T11:53:08Z2019-09-04T11:53:08ZFor some children born abroad, US citizenship has never been a guarantee<p>The Trump administration <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/policymanual/updates/20190828-ResidenceForCitizenship.pdf">announced</a> on Aug. 28 that it would revoke the longstanding policy of granting citizenship to some children of parents stationed abroad who are U.S. citizens and government employees or members of the U.S. armed forces.</p>
<p>Public uproar ensued, including the use of the hashtag <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/trump-military-families-children-overseas-troops-automatic-citizenship-1456710">#Trumphatesmilitaryfamilies</a>. </p>
<p>The policy requires a more <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/08/29/755506286/what-do-new-citizenship-rules-for-kids-of-u-s-military-workers-abroad-mean">complicated application process for citizenship for</a> children born to parents who became U.S. citizens after their children were born; who are U.S. citizens but have never lived in the U.S.; who are naturalized citizens and do not meet U.S. residency requirements; and to adopted children of parents serving overseas. </p>
<p>But historically, not all children born of U.S. citizen service members stationed overseas have been granted U.S. citizenship nor legal recognition. </p>
<p>In my book, <a href="https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=28732">“Global Borderlands: Fantasy, Violence and Empire in Subic Bay, Philippines,”</a> I document the longstanding precariousness of U.S. citizenship for children born to Filipina mothers and U.S. servicemen. </p>
<h2>Filipino Amerasian children</h2>
<p>Christopher Acebedo, now in his 40s, is the son of a Filipina woman and U.S. naval seaman who was stationed at the U.S. Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines in the late 1970s. </p>
<p>The U.S. Subic Bay Naval Base was a logistics and maintenance hub for the U.S. military during the Vietnam War and a popular destination for “rest and relaxation” for service personnel during that time. </p>
<p>His mother attempted an illegal abortion but failed. She gave birth to Christopher and abandoned him; he was raised by his grandmother. He eventually lived at the <a href="https://www.preda.org/about/about-preda/">PREDA Center</a>, a nonprofit organization run by Father Shay Cullen, an Irish missionary priest. The center helped sexually exploited women and children. </p>
<p>Christopher is just one of hundreds of thousands of Amerasian children across Southeast Asia who represent a legacy of the Vietnam War. Although I’m unaware of a global estimate, in the Philippines alone there are an estimated <a href="https://repository.uchastings.edu/hastings_law_journal/vol46/iss5/6">23,000 to 50,000 Amerasians</a>.</p>
<p>These children, whose mothers are local women and fathers are U.S. servicemen, <a href="http://amerasianresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/CHHSS2012CambodiaContinuingConundrumfinalpdf.file_.pdf">are often born into poverty and face discrimination</a> within their communities. Many are stigmatized in their home countries, since their mothers are presumed to be sex workers. They are often <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Filipino_Amerasians.html?id=nftvAAAAMAAJ">abandoned by their biological fathers and, at times, even their extended maternal family</a>. Without their biological father’s legal recognition, they are not entitled to U.S. citizenship.</p>
<p>Christopher was one of three named Amerasian children, and one Filipina mother, in a class action lawsuit against the United States in 1993. This lawsuit was filed by American lawyer Joseph W. Cotchett on behalf of an estimated 8,600 Filipino Amerasian children in Olongapo, the city surrounding the former naval base. </p>
<p>The filers argued that the U.S. government shared “joint legal responsibility with those who fathered the children left behind with the withdrawal of the Naval personnel.” Because they were abandoned, Cotchett argued, the Amerasian children were entitled to damages. </p>
<p>Cotchett relied on the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/tucker_act">U.S. Tucker Act</a> as the basis of his argument. The act states that a contract with the U.S. military, whether written or implied, is a contract with the U.S. generally.</p>
<p>Cotchett argued that the U.S. military entered into a contract with the Olongapo government when it helped establish and run a clinic since 1974 to treat sexually transmitted infections of local sex workers and when it assisted in regulating sex work in the area. As a consequence, the suit claimed, the U.S. military was jointly responsible for the children fathered by U.S. servicemen and the children were owed damages because they were abandoned after the U.S. military withdrew from the Philippines. </p>
<p>The case was dismissed by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in 1993. Cotchett and his legal team failed to gain recognition or financial assistance for the Filipino Amerasian children left behind by the U.S. servicemen stationed at Subic Bay. </p>
<h2>Congressional attempts for recognition</h2>
<p>In 1981, Jeremiah Denton, a Republican senator from Alabama, introduced the Amerasian Act to Congress. The act would provide an immigration pathway for Amerasian children born in east and Southeast Asia during the Korean and Vietnam wars. </p>
<p>The original Senate proposal included references to Amerasian children born in Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan. The bill passed in 1982, but <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/97th-congress/senate-bill/1698">the final, enacted version</a> excluded children born in the Philippines, Japan and Taiwan. </p>
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<span class="caption">Amerasian children pose in front of cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City in 1972.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Watchf-AP-I-VNM-APHS461066-Vietnam-War-Amerasia-/dadd900a3f3543f9bb0631681de5e1b5/14/0">AP Photo</a></span>
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<p>Although no reason is explicitly given as to why these countries were taken out of the proposed law, the Philippines and Japan have long hosted U.S. military bases. So, too, were these countries outside the combat zone, and contiguous land areas, ravaged by the Vietnam War. </p>
<p>In 1993, <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/103rd-congress/house-bill/2429">House Resolution 2429</a> was introduced to Congress by Lucien E. Blackwell, a black congressman and army veteran. This resolution would have added Filipino Amerasians into the Amerasian Act. But it died in a subcommittee, never even voted on by Congress.</p>
<p>For Amerasians included in the Amerasian Act, migration to the U.S. did not guarantee a good life or acceptance. <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/children-of-the-vietnam-war-131207347/">According to Smithsonian Magazine</a>, an estimated 26,000 Amerasians from Vietnam migrated to the U.S. through the multiple laws aimed at assisting this group. </p>
<p>“No more than 3% found their fathers in their adoptive homeland. Good jobs were scarce,” wrote David Lamb. “As many as half remained illiterate or semi-illiterate in both Vietnamese and English and never became U.S. citizens. The mainstream Vietnamese-American population looked down on them.”</p>
<p>Today, many, if not most, of the estimated 25,000 to 50,000 Amerasians in the Philippines <a href="https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/aalj/vol2/iss1/4/">remain without economic support</a>. They do not have U.S. citizenship, because their biological fathers do not claim or legally recognize them, and neither does the U.S. military. Nor do they qualify for visa preference specified in the Amerasian Act. </p>
<p>U.S. citizenship has never been guaranteed to all children born to U.S. citizen service members. For those children born in the shadows of overseas U.S. military bases to local women, their citizenship status, ability to migrate to the U.S. and claims to financial support and legal recognition have long been contested.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122704/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Victoria Reyes has received fellowships, awards and/or grants from the American Association of University Women, National Science Foundation, American Sociological Association, Institute of International Education, Law and Society Association, National Women’s Studies Association, and National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan.</span></em></p>For children born in the shadows of overseas US military bases to local women, their citizenship status has long been contested.Victoria Reyes, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of California, RiversideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1221222019-08-23T00:44:50Z2019-08-23T00:44:50ZAustralia wants to install military technology in Antarctica – here's why that's allowed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289008/original/file-20190822-170906-6mdnj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;rect=0%2C9%2C3249%2C1822&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Technology, such as satellite systems, can be used for both military and scientific purposes. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This week, the ABC <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-19/australia-antarctica-military-dual-use-technology/11427226">revealed</a> that the Australian Defence Force wants to roll out military technology in Antarctica. </p>
<p>The article raises the issue of what is, or is not, legitimate use of technology under the <a href="https://www.ats.aq/e/ats.htm">Antarctic Treaty</a>. And it has a lot to do with how technology is used and provisions in the treaty.</p>
<p>The Antarctic Treaty was negotiated in the late 1950s, during the Cold War. Its purpose was to keep Antarctica separate from any Cold War conflict, and any arguments over sovereignty claims.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/as-china-flexes-its-muscles-in-antarctica-science-is-the-best-diplomatic-tool-on-the-frozen-continent-86059">As China flexes its muscles in Antarctica, science is the best diplomatic tool on the frozen continent</a>
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<p>The words used in the treaty reflect the global politics and technologies back then, before there were satellites and GPS systems. But its provisions and prohibitions are still relevant today.</p>
<p>The opening provision of the <a href="https://documents.ats.aq/keydocs/vol_1/vol1_2_AT_Antarctic_Treaty_e.pdf">Antarctic Treaty</a>, which came into force in 1961, says:</p>
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<p>Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only. There shall be prohibited, [among other things], any measures of a military nature, such as the establishment of military bases and fortifications, the carrying out of military manoeuvres, as well as the testing of any type of weapons.</p>
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<p>The treaty also prohibits “any nuclear explosions in Antarctica” and disposal of radioactive waste. What the treaty does not do, however, is prohibit countries from using military support in their peaceful Antarctic activities. </p>
<p>Many Antarctic treaty parties, including Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the US, Chile and Argentina, rely on military support for their research. This includes the use of ships, aircraft, personnel and specialised services like aircraft ground support.</p>
<p>In fact, the opening provision of the treaty is clarified by the words: </p>
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<p>the present Treaty shall not prevent the use of military personnel or equipment for scientific research or for any other peaceful purpose.</p>
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<p>It would be a breach of the treaty if “military exercises” were being conducted in Antarctica, or if military equipment was being used for belligerent purposes. But the treaty does not deal specifically with technology. It deals with acts or actions. The closest it gets to technology is the term “equipment” as used above.</p>
<h2>Dual use technology</h2>
<p>So-called “dual use” technology – which that can be used for both peaceful and military purposes – is allowed in Antarctica in support of science.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/for-the-first-time-we-can-measure-the-human-footprint-on-antarctica-112856">For the first time, we can measure the human footprint on Antarctica</a>
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<p>The term is often used to describe technology such as the widely-used GPS, which relies on satellites and a worldwide system of ground-based receiving stations. Norway’s “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_Satellite_Station">Trollsat</a>”, China’s “<a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/FlagPost/2015/February/Beidou_China_new_satellite_navigation_system">Beidou</a>”, and Russia’s “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GLONASS">GLONASS</a>” systems are similar, relying on satellites and ground stations for their accuracy. </p>
<p>What’s more, modern science heavily relies on satellite technology and the use of Antarctic ground stations for data gathering and transmission.</p>
<p>And scientific equipment, like ice-penetrating radars, carried on aircraft, drones, and autonomous airborne vehicles are being used extensively to understand the Antarctic continent itself and how it’s changing. </p>
<p>Much, if not all, of this technology could have “dual use”. But its use is not contrary to the Antarctic Treaty. </p>
<p>In fact, the use of this equipment for “scientific research” or a “peaceful purpose” is not only legitimate, it’s also essential for Antarctic research, and global understanding of the health of our planet.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/the-benefits-and-pitfalls-of-working-in-isolation-105350">The benefits – and pitfalls – of working in isolation</a>
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<p>The technologies Australia deploys in Antarctica all relate to its legitimate Antarctic operations and to science. </p>
<p>There are also facilities in Antarctica used to monitor potential military-related activities elsewhere in the world, such as the monitoring stations <a href="http://www.antarctica.gov.au/news/2018/nuclear-monitoring-facility-certified">used under</a> the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.</p>
<p>The circumstances under which modern technology would, or could be, used against the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty have not been tested. But the activity would have to go beyond “dual purpose” and not be for science or peaceful purposes. </p>
<h2>Science in Antarctica is open to scrutiny</h2>
<p>Science in Antarctica is very diverse, from space sciences to ecosystem science, and 29 countries have active <a href="https://www.ats.aq/devAS/ats_parties.aspx?lang=e">research programs</a> there. </p>
<p>And since Antarctica plays a significant role in the global climate system, much modern Antarctic <a href="https://www.scar.org/">research</a> focuses on climate science and climate change.</p>
<p>But there has been speculation about whether Antarctica is crucial to the development of alternatives to GPS (for example, by Russia and China) that could also be used in warfare as well as for peaceful purposes. It’s unclear whether using ground stations in Antarctica is essential for such a purpose.</p>
<p>For instance, Claire Young, a security analyst writing for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, <a href="https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/whats-china-up-to-in-antarctica/">said</a> the accuracy of China’s Beidou satellite has already been improved by international testing, so testing in Antarctica will make very little difference. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/remembering-antarcticas-nuclear-past-with-nukey-poo-99934">Remembering Antarctica's nuclear past with 'Nukey Poo'</a>
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<p>This leads to another important provision of the Antarctic Treaty.</p>
<p>The treaty foreshadowed compliance problems in the remote and hostile continent by including an open ended provision for any Antarctic Treaty Party to inspect any Antarctic facility. </p>
<p>In other words, any party has complete freedom to access all parts of Antarctica at any time to inspect ships, aircraft, equipment, or any other facility, and even use “aerial observations” for inspection. This means the activities of all parties, and all actions in Antarctica, are available for open scrutiny.</p>
<p>This inspection regime is important because inspections can be used to determine if modern technology on the continent is, in fact, being used for scientific or peaceful purposes, in line with the provisions of the treaty.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122122/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tony Press receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>‘Dual use’ technology – technology used for both peaceful and military purposes – is allowed in Antarctica, according to the treaty.Tony Press, Adjunct Professor, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1219012019-08-21T12:25:05Z2019-08-21T12:25:05ZClimate scientists may not be the best communicators of climate threats<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288618/original/file-20190819-123741-1ombwpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Climate scientist James Hansen, who has spoken out about the dangers of climate change, was arrested in 2010 alongside Appalachian residents.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rainforestactionnetwork/5030380613/in/photolist-2aw1Xx2-8Ew1Ue-8EvZoD-8EyT1f-8EvvcZ-8EvvhK-8Ez9V7-8EwyZt-8EvZeH-8EvHBx-8EApJG">Rich Clement/flickr</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The American public ranks scientists as some of the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/03/22/public-confidence-in-scientists-has-remained-stable-for-decades/">most trusted voices in the country.</a> So it made sense for eminent climate scientists, such as James Hansen, Michael Mann, and Peter Kalmus, <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/james_hansen_why_i_must_speak_out_about_climate_change/discussion">to sound the alarm</a> about <a href="https://www.apnnews.com/alon-ben-meir-not-acting-on-climate-crisis-is-at-our-peril-august-14-201/">climate change</a>. </p>
<p>“When climate scientists don’t speak out, we’re inadvertently sending a message that climate change isn’t urgent”, <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/science/to-my-fellow-climate-scientists-be-human-be-brave-tell-the-truth-20170207">said Kalmus</a>, a climate scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a 2017 essay addressed to other climate scientists.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Dr. Michael Mann describes the radical solutions needed to change the trajectory of climate change with radio host Thom Hartmann, DGital.</span></figcaption>
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<p>But when these scientists do speak out, are they having an impact on the public conversation?</p>
<p>Few studies have examined how effective climate scientists are in influencing the public about climate change. However, other studies suggest that messages delivered by <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1075547012441691">credible and trusted sources</a> may be especially powerful. For example, one recent <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550618758709">study</a> found that when the Republican Party was connected to a state ballot measure on climate change, Republican support increased.</p>
<p>As scholars who study <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&amp;user=JKXl2AYAAAAJ">climate change</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&amp;user=d7a2JDMAAAAJ">communication</a>, we recently examined the effect of scientific information about climate change on public opinion to determine if messages attributed to climate scientists made a difference. </p>
<p>Our study shows that <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1075547019863154">climate scientists have relatively little impact on people’s views</a>.
And it demonstrates how difficult it is to match the message and the messenger to an audience when the issues are complex and politically charged.</p>
<h2>Who is a trusted source?</h2>
<p>While science is inherently uncertain, the science of climate change – and the <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/048002/meta">role of humans in making it worse</a> – is clear. Many climate controversies today are not about whether the climate is changing, but how should people change their behavior and the causes of climate change itself. </p>
<p>Despite the certainties of climate science, Americans remain <a href="https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-december-2018/">deeply divided along political lines</a> about climate change. </p>
<p>For more than two decades, the scientific community has made <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118900772.etrds0417">efforts to inform the public</a> about the scientific agreement of human-caused climate change and its impacts. At the same time, some politicians and advocates regularly <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1533-8525.2011.01198.x">call into question scientific evidence</a> to reinforce doubts about climate change among Americans. </p>
<p>We decided to study who are the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/110/Supplement_3/14048">credible messengers</a> who can influence climate opinions.</p>
<p>We designed a survey to learn if linking sources, or messengers, with specific types of threats associated with climate change would strengthen or weaken the impact of the message. </p>
<p>Respondents were provided with one of two statements that emphasized the threat of climate change to either national security or the environment. Each statement was attributed to one of four sources (or to no source): military leaders, Republican Party leaders, Democratic Party leaders or climate scientists. Each source suggested that we “promote energy efficiency and renewable energy technology to substantially decrease our greenhouse gas emissions.” </p>
<p>The survey information also included suggestions to lower greenhouse gas levels.</p>
<p>We expected that climate scientists and military leaders would be especially effective sources when linked with an argument in their area of expertise. We also expected Republicans and Democrats to be most susceptible to information about climate change when it was delivered by a trusted leader particularly from their own political party.</p>
<h2>Who is convincing?</h2>
<p>Overall, the survey demonstrated that the least effective information source was climate scientists. </p>
<p>Statements about climate change’s effects on national security attributed to climate scientists decreased respondents’ belief that climate change is happening and decreased support for laws to mitigate greenhouse gases. </p>
<p>They also reduced perceptions that a scientific consensus exists regarding human-caused climate change and reduced the belief that climate change is an environmental threat. Climate scientists as the source of the environmental message had the same impact as the information being attributed to no source at all. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288454/original/file-20190818-192254-wfpfpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288454/original/file-20190818-192254-wfpfpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=795&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288454/original/file-20190818-192254-wfpfpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=795&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288454/original/file-20190818-192254-wfpfpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=795&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288454/original/file-20190818-192254-wfpfpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=999&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288454/original/file-20190818-192254-wfpfpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=999&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288454/original/file-20190818-192254-wfpfpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=999&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Military leaders, such as former Secretary of State and Army Gen. Colin Powell, have sway with the public when they talk about the need to address climate change.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/Search?query=Colin+Powell+and+military&amp;ss=10&amp;st=kw&amp;entitysearch=&amp;toItem=18&amp;orderBy=Newest&amp;searchMediaType=excludecollections">AP Photo/Doug Mills</a></span>
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<p>We also evaluated partisan differences in responses. For Republicans, the most influential source of information was military leaders, particularly in the context of threats to national security. Republicans were also influenced by statements that were attributed to Republican Party leaders. </p>
<p>In this context, Republicans increased their belief that climate change is a threat to the environment, reduced their suspicion that climate science is politically motivated, and reduced the notion that climate change is a hoax. </p>
<p>On the other hand, when Democratic Party leaders were attributed with statements about climate change’s effects on national security, Republican respondents decreased their belief that climate change is happening and increased their perception that information about climate change is primarily motivated by political considerations. The results show that the effectiveness of the information depended crucially on the degree to which the audience trusts the information source.</p>
<p>For Democrats, attributing the statement to a climate scientist also reduced the belief that there is a scientific consensus about climate change for both messages. Military leaders were also an influential source for Democrats.</p>
<h2>Expertise and trust</h2>
<p>Science and politics can become conflated <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2014/10/16/356543981/when-is-it-ok-for-scientists-to-become-political">when scientists engage in political advocacy</a>. When this occurs, it can <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/rcatorbg29&amp;div=11&amp;id=&amp;page=">diminish the positive impact that scientific expertise can have on policy outcomes</a>. </p>
<p>This is not to say that climate scientists should not be sources of public information about climate change. But it is also important to know that they may not have the influence equal to other experts, particularly to partisan audiences listening to them on this very polarized issue. </p>
<p>Despite the high level of confidence that the American public has in science, <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20111229/climate-change-worsens-scientists-james-hansen-nasa-advocacy-skeptics-global-warming-ipcc">scientists may not deliver the most convincing or effective messages to change minds and actions</a>. </p>
<p>Scientific expertise is something the American public values – <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/111/Supplement_4/13593.abstract">who they trust</a> is another question.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&amp;utm_medium=inline-link&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter-text&amp;utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121901/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some climate scientists have spoken out about the dangers of climate change. But a new study shows those voices may not be very influential.Risa Palm, Professor of Urban Studies and Public Health, Georgia State UniversityToby W. Bolsen, Associate Professor, American Politics, Political Science, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1214772019-08-14T12:30:51Z2019-08-14T12:30:51ZOne budget line Congress can agree on: Spending billions on the US military<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287714/original/file-20190812-71926-tzb39y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Since WWII, there&#39;s been strong partisan support for military spending.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/us-army-soldier-flag-military-parade-767578558?src=01HKkrX0BBS-eIGKRNGuXw-1-37">Mircea Moira/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The two-year budget deal signed into law in July marks a rare bipartisan agreement.</p>
<p>The deal adds US$320 billion over current spending levels spread across defense and non-defense programs, averting the threat of debt default until after the 2020 election and reducing the threat of another government shutdown. To forestall imminent budget crisis, party leaders agreed to pile on to the nation’s $1 trillion deficit by <a href="http://www.crfb.org/">adding another $1.7 trillion to the national debt over the next decade</a>. </p>
<p>Despite <a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/social_issues/republicans_think_u_s_spends_too_much_on_welfare_democrats_disagree">stark partisan divisions</a> on deficit spending and social programs, bipartisan support for large defense budgets is not new, nor has it been dislodged in an era marked by increasing partisan animosity. </p>
<p>While the U.S. has the most powerful military machine in history, it is also incomparably the most expensive – and members of Congress work aggressively to maintain it. </p>
<h2>The roots of defense spending</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/A/bo17607479.html">As I show in my book, “The American Warfare State</a>,” bipartisan support for large defense budgets and controversial high-cost weapons systems has deep roots in World War II. </p>
<p>During and after the war, defense industries proliferated across the national landscape. Government investments in military technology became an important source of jobs, revenue and capital. </p>
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<p><a href="https://www.polisci.washington.edu/people/rebecca-u-thorpe">My research shows</a> that, since World War II, Republican and Democratic-controlled Congresses and administrations have routinely spent more on the military than every other item in the discretionary budget added together. </p>
<p>The latest deal raises the baseline defense budget to $738 billion in fiscal year 2020, up from $718 billion this year. This is more than Congress spent on the military at the height of the Cold War after accounting for inflation, and <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2018/05/02/us-remains-top-military-spender-sipri-reports/">nearly as much money as every other country in the world combined</a>.</p>
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<h2>Bipartisan support</h2>
<p>Although politicians disagree about how large defense hikes should be and how to fund them, they can rely on a baseline of support from their respective party for defense increases.</p>
<p>The Pentagon is the <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Robert-Reich/2010/0813/America-s-biggest-jobs-program-The-US-military">largest employer in America</a>. Despite steady declines in the nation’s manufacturing sector, U.S. weapons producers continue to generate hundreds of billions of dollars each year while providing a source of reliable employment <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-aerospace-industry-employment-idUSKCN0VP1PE">for more than 4 million Americans</a>. </p>
<p>Defense jobs are spread out across every state and a preponderance of U.S. House districts, including many suburbs, small towns and geographically remote locations that lack diverse economies. </p>
<p>Defense manufacturers and subcontractors for each weapons system deliberately distribute defense dollars across as many congressional districts as possible, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X09337107">specifically targeting defense industries in more remote, rural areas that are inordinately reliant on the defense dollars that they receive</a>. </p>
<p>As a result, many members of Congress view defense spending as a bipartisan stimulus program, where the immediate benefits of continued investment – protecting local jobs – outweighs long-terms costs in strategic trade-offs, waste or inefficiency. </p>
<p>For instance, consider the F-35 joint strike fighter, a stealth aircraft designed to take off like a helicopter, fly at supersonic speeds and manage aircraft-carrier landings. The costs amount to $100 million per plane and $1.5 trillion over life of the program. The F-35 has experienced <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-all-the-problems-with-the-f-35-that-the-pentagon-found-in-a-2014-report-2015-3">chronic delays, cost overruns and mechanical problems since its inception</a>.</p>
<p>Yet, F-35 unites unlikely allies from conservative Kay Granger (R-Texas) – chairwoman of the defense appropriations subcommittee representing Fort Worth, where a sprawling Lockheed Martin plant assembles the plane and the program is viewed as <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2017/01/27/pentagon-review-f-35-spending/">vital to the economy</a> —- to self-declared socialist Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/10/bernie-sanders-faces-backlash-over-war-machine-he-brought-to-vermont.html">fought to get the F-35 unit assigned to the Air National Guard in Burlington</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/04/30/us-air-force-conducts-airstrikes-with-f-35-for-first-time-ever/">Although the plane has only been used in combat one time</a>, Congress voted along bipartisan lines to spend an additional $10.7 billion for 77 more planes in the FY2020 budget. </p>
<p>During <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/07/31/transcript-first-night-second-democratic-debate/">the second Democratic presidential primary debates in late July</a>, the candidates uniformly indicted the Republicans on tax cuts, deficit spending and lack of action on pressing security needs like cyberattacks, election security and the climate crisis. Yet, no candidate mentioned defense cuts or reduced funding for high-tech programs, like the F-35, as a potential source of revenue or strategic necessity.</p>
<h2>Americans’ exposure to war</h2>
<p>While large numbers of Americans support an <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/18/syria-airstrikes-trump-poll-530293">aggressive American military posture</a>, a diminishing percentage of Americans <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/13/6-facts-about-the-u-s-military-and-its-changing-demographics/">are actually involved with the military</a> </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287913/original/file-20190813-9431-ncmsrr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287913/original/file-20190813-9431-ncmsrr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287913/original/file-20190813-9431-ncmsrr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287913/original/file-20190813-9431-ncmsrr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287913/original/file-20190813-9431-ncmsrr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287913/original/file-20190813-9431-ncmsrr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287913/original/file-20190813-9431-ncmsrr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287913/original/file-20190813-9431-ncmsrr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">U.S. Air Force drone on display in Berlin.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/berlin-jun-2-2016-us-air-548525536?src=Aw5hkSVNrdd9j0OKcOOP_g-1-21">VanderWolf Images/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<p>Americans are increasingly insulated and isolated from the political, economic and human costs of warfare. Selective deferments in Vietnam and elimination of the military draft in 1973 transformed military service from a widely shared civic duty to a voluntary option, which <a href="https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2011/11/23/the-military-civilian-gap-fewer-family-connections/">severed most Americans’ connections to the military</a>. <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-modern-mercenary-9780190621087?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;">Increasing reliance on private military and security contractors in U.S. war zones</a> also reduce the number of volunteers needed to fight wars overseas. Finally, greater use of unmanned technology, like drones, makes it possible to engage in overseas conflicts <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/303774/wired-for-war-by-p-w-singer/9780143116844/">without placing American lives at risk</a>. </p>
<p>As a result, fewer Americans today serve in the armed forces and fight or die in U.S. wars <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32492.pdf">than any other period in the nation’s history</a>. At the same time, the burden of serving multiple overseas deployments <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-casualty-gap-9780195390964?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;#">falls disproportionately on the poor, less educated and communities of color</a>. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, Americans no longer pay the full financial costs of maintaining military establishments and fighting major wars. Instead, as budgets increasingly roll into deficit spending, policymakers can promote large defense budgets and wage perpetual war without raising taxes or demanding financial sacrifices. </p>
<p>The importance of defense spending for core Republican and Democratic constituencies and increasing public insulation from war make it difficult to have a national conversation about downsizing or reprioritizing defense budgets. As the latest budget deal reflects, this rare point of partisan agreement is increasingly perilous to a nation facing unchecked budget deficits and new geopolitical realities. </p>
<p>[ <em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&amp;utm_medium=inline-link&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter-text&amp;utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121477/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca U. Thorpe was a Research Fellow at the The Brookings Institution (2008-2009). </span></em></p>While the US has the most powerful military machine in history, it is also incomparably the most expensive – and members of Congress work aggressively to maintain it.Rebecca U. Thorpe, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1217902019-08-14T11:08:43Z2019-08-14T11:08:43ZWhat US wants from UK on security after Brexit – and why this puts Britain in a tricky position<p>Even before Boris Johnson became prime minister, the Trump administration has been on <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/23/trump-boris-johnson-britain-trump-uk-prime-minister">a charm offensive</a> towards the UK and him in particular. When Britain’s Johnson met US National Security Advisor John Bolton on August 12 in London, <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-britain/trump-adviser-bolton-u-s-would-enthusiastically-support-a-uk-choice-for-no-deal-brexit-idUKKCN1V20W3">they discussed</a> the UK-US trading relationship, including a proposed post-Brexit free trade agreement, alongside the critical security interests that the two nations have in common.</p>
<p>The UK now has to make difficult choices in terms of its national interest and relations with its closest strategic partners. Both narrow national and wider international conditions and events have made this particularly tricky for the UK, especially given the overarching difficulties of Brexit and the recent change in leadership. Recent events in the Straits of Hormuz and the overall trajectory of the Iranian nuclear agreement are a case in point.</p>
<p>On July 4, the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 was detained by British Royal Marines off the coast of Gibraltar on suspicion of violating EU sanctions by taking oil to Syria. On July 19, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards then seized the British-flagged ship the Stena Impero. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/iran-what-the-law-of-the-sea-says-about-detaining-foreign-ships-in-transit-120816">Iran: what the law of the sea says about detaining foreign ships in transit</a>
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<p>These incidents and the ratcheting up of tension in the Gulf have compelled the UK to look for additional strategic partners to help safeguard shipping in that region. This is where the rubber has hit the road in terms of the nexus between the UK’s interests and strategic partnerships with both the US and its European allies. </p>
<p>In May 2018, the Trump administration announced that the US <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/05/us-withdrawal-iran-nuclear-deal-one-year/">would pull out</a> of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which sets limits on Iran’s nuclear programme to ensure that it cannot produce nuclear weapons. Until recently, the UK remained committed, along with the EU, to the JCPOA. However, Bolton’s visit to the UK was, in part, aimed at trying to persuade the UK to rethink that commitment to the nuclear deal as well as to substantiate <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/aug/05/uk-joins-us-in-mission-to-protect-oil-tankers-in-gulf">Johnson’s recent decision</a> to join the US naval mission Operation Sentinel to protect oil tankers in the Gulf. </p>
<h2>Policing the Gulf</h2>
<p>In one of his last acts as British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt indicated that the UK should pursue a European-led maritime security force in the Gulf. However, this was subsequently <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-joins-international-maritime-security-mission-in-the-gulf">rejected by Johnson</a> in favour of cooperation with the Americans. </p>
<p>To date, the Europeans, as well other US allies, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/23/jeremy-hunt-sides-with-eu-over-us-in-plan-to-address-gulf-crisis">remain uncommitted to joining the new task force</a> despite recent overtures from both the US and the UK. The UK now finds itself in a difficult position between not wanting to completely renounce its commitment to the JCPOA and its post-Brexit security interests with the EU, while also looking for partners that will actually deliver on its requirement to bulk-up protection of shipping in the straits.</p>
<p>As expected in the current politically polarised UK context, there are varying attitudes and opinions on how the UK should navigate this challenge. There are those who argue that both the UK and the EU (and <a href="https://www.iiss.org/blogs/analysis/2019/08/bill-for-america-first">even the US</a>) are all in weaker international positions and this is just one example that exposes that reality. </p>
<p>Some <a href="https://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/79567">analysts have argued</a> that Britain’s weakness and preoccupation with Brexit, Europe’s lack of strategic foresight and defense capabilities, and a transatlantic relationship struggling to find common ground are all exposing frailties in the wider US-UK relationship. Others have <a href="https://britishinterest.org/how-should-british-policy-change-in-the-gulf/">proposed a two-track approach</a> for the UK to boost the Royal Navy and move towards the US position on Iran – and the JCPOA in particular. </p>
<h2>Naval strength</h2>
<p>What’s clear is that the UK will still have to invest in its own naval capabilities if it wants to safeguard shipping in the Gulf whether independently or through multilateral missions. In July, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2019/07/25/in-a-naval-confrontation-with-iran-great-britain-can-find-neither-ships-nor-friends/">warned the UK</a> that the responsibility falls to the UK to take care of its ships. </p>
<p>So what is the UK’s capacity to do this? Currently, the Royal Navy has fewer than 80 ships and is at about <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/06/21/cuts-britains-military-mean-no-longer-rule-waves-fleet-halved/">half of the capacity</a> it was during the Falklands War. This is partly because the Royal Navy pursued a strategy of replacing capacity with high-end capability; the US Navy has taken a similar path, though it started from a much stronger position. However, for the UK, this has <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2019/07/25/in-a-naval-confrontation-with-iran-great-britain-can-find-neither-ships-nor-friends/">led to a need to strike a balance</a> between those capacities necessary to win wars and to preserve peace. Protecting routine maritime shipping very much falls into the latter category. </p>
<p>The UK approach is purposefully designed to plug into US operational capacity in times of crisis management operations or great power conflicts. The force is set up to support a carrier strike-group and not to patrol global shipping routes. </p>
<p>It remains to be seen whether Johnson will be open to investing the required capital to grow the Royal Navy substantially. He certainly seems ready to work more closely with the Americans in the Gulf. However, the long-term shape of the UK-EU security partnership as well as UK bilateral cooperation with the larger European military powers will reveal itself in time.</p>
<p>This will only be determined by the circumstances and attitudes surrounding Brexit and the ability to repair the current fractures in the wider transatlantic relationship – and not just on what particular maritime task force the UK decides to contribute.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121790/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon J Smith receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council for research on the Drivers of Military Strategic Reform.</span></em></p>Tensions in the Gulf are a stark reminder of the choices ahead for the UK on security cooperation after Brexit.Simon J Smith, Associate Professor of Security and International Relations, Staffordshire UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1195992019-08-06T02:37:36Z2019-08-06T02:37:36ZEnough inquiries that go nowhere – it's time for a royal commission into veteran suicide<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286002/original/file-20190729-43114-1iv4wyo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The government’s slogan is &#39;putting veterans and their families first&#39;, but on the problem of veteran suicide, it has fallen short. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Glenn Hunt/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Between 2001 and 2016, <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/veterans/national-veteran-suicide-monitoring">373 Australian veterans</a> took their lives, according to a study commissioned by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA). The study noted that male veterans under the age of 30 had a suicide rate more than two times the national average for men the same age.</p>
<p>Veteran Scott Harris has compiled statistics on veteran suicides for the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheWarriorsReturn/">The Warrior’s Return Facebook page</a>, and says there have been 153 since 2017, including 19 so far this year. </p>
<p>Ex-service organisations who made submissions to a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/VeteranSuicide/Report">parliamentary inquiry</a> into veteran suicide in 2017 argued that the number of suicides is potentially higher. And this does not include the number of veterans who try to take their own lives every year. </p>
<p>Our research into <a href="https://www.defenceabuse.com">institutional abuse in the Australian Defence Force</a> (ADF) explores the connection between military service and institutional harm. It finds links between the unyielding bureaucracy of the ADF and DVA, and veteran suicide. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/an-urgent-rethink-is-needed-on-the-idealised-image-of-the-anzac-digger-107003">An urgent rethink is needed on the idealised image of the ANZAC digger</a>
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<p>According to a <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/veterans/report">Productivity Commission report</a>, released last month, the systems set up to support veterans during and after military service require “fundamental reform”. Among the recommendations in the report is</p>
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<p>a new whole-of-life support system with a focus on minimising and preventing harm during military service and beyond. </p>
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<p>This would include a new mental health strategy with a focus on suicide prevention.</p>
<p>Given these grim statistics and calls for reform, more examination is clearly needed to understand the root causes of why veterans continue to kill themselves. Despite recent efforts by the government to address the issue, no inquiries have had the scope to bring all the pieces together. </p>
<p>As a result, there is mounting pressure among veterans and their families for a <a href="https://www.change.org/p/a-royal-commission-into-the-veteran-suicide-rate-in-australia">royal commission into veteran suicide</a>. We believe this is necessary to bring attention to the links between veteran suicide and the institutional failures and bureaucratic barriers to helping military personnel after they leave the service. </p>
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<h2>Organisational culture or individual weakness?</h2>
<p>Historically, the ADF and DVA have tended to view mental health issues and suicide among service members and veterans as <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Marks_of_War.html?id=wp4bAAAACAAJ&amp;source=kp_cover&amp;redir_esc=y">personal issues</a> linked to <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/why-military-suicides-are-so-common-the-answer-isn-t-combat-20181113-p50fmm.html">combat exposure</a> – not institutional problems linked to poor administration.</p>
<p>The recommendations of the 2017 <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-14/jesse-bird-veteran-affairs-inquiry-finds-failings/9050594">Bird Review</a> into the suicide of Afghanistan veteran Jesse Bird highlights this misconception. Bird took his own life weeks after his claim for permanent impairment was denied by the DVA. </p>
<p>As his <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/VeteranSuicide/Report/c03">parents’ submission</a> to the 2017 Senate inquiry into veteran suicide states:</p>
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<p>it seems to him and us that the level of bureaucracy is intentionally obstructionist and unedifying. The jungle of paperwork, the lack of follow-up and the non-existent support has contributed to his deteriorating mental health.</p>
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<p>It was not just the trauma associated with combat exposure that pushed Bird to the edge, but how his care was mismanaged by the agency that was supposed to help him maintain his <a href="https://www.dva.gov.au/about-dva/overview/dva-service-charter#how-support">physical, mental and financial well-being</a> after he left the military. </p>
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<a href="http://theconversation.com/we-need-to-talk-about-suicide-in-the-military-119219">We need to talk about suicide in the military</a>
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<p>In another example, Private Jeremy Williams <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/how-an-army-of-bullies-drove-a-soldier-to-suicide-20030827-gdw8u3.html">was bullied into taking his own life</a> in 2003 at the School of Infantry in Singleton. According to the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/sitecore/content/Home/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/Completed_inquiries/2004-07/miljustice/report/c06">findings of an inquiry into his death</a>, it emerged that soldiers were being subjected to</p>
<blockquote>
<p>abuse, denigration, harassment, bullying (including threats of physical violence) … by staff and other Initial Employment Trainees (IETs)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And, the soldiers lacked </p>
<blockquote>
<p>efficient and effective support services or mechanisms where [they] could seek redress </p>
</blockquote>
<p>These are the kinds of institutional failures that need to be more thoroughly explored in a royal commission.</p>
<h2>A long legacy of inquiries that go nowhere</h2>
<p>The ADF and DVA persist in evading royal commissions, instead trusting in their own internal processes to investigate complex issues. Since 1970, there have been around <a href="https://www.legal-tools.org/en/doc/a4486a/">50 ADF inquiries</a> into issues ranging from sexual and physical abuse to <a href="http://www.defence.gov.au/Health/Home/MilHOP.asp">mental health</a> and <a href="http://www.defence.gov.au/Publications/COI/">suicide</a>.</p>
<p>There have also been numerous inquiries into the DVA, including last month’s <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/veterans/report">Productivity Commission</a> report, which recommended that the DVA be abolished and its functions incorporated into defence. But the report, acknowledges this would probably be impossible, since veterans do not trust the ADF to act with integrity and transparency towards its own people. </p>
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<p>In 2005, the Senate inquiry into the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Completed_Inquiries/jfadt/military/reptindx">effectiveness of Australia’s military justice system</a> recommended an administrative review board for the military that would offer <a href="http://www.ombudsman.gov.au/publications/speeches/all-speeches/speech-and-presentation-document/commonwealth-ombudsman/2008/military-administrative-inquiries">independence, transparency and accountability for military personnel </a>. </p>
<p>Crucially, this board would have operated outside the chain of command. But the recommendation was <a href="http://www.ombudsman.gov.au/publications/speeches/all-speeches/speech-and-presentation-documents/commonwealth-ombudsman/2008/military-administrative-inquiries">rejected</a> by Prime Minister John Howard, Defence Minister Senator Robert Hill and the chief of defence, Major General Peter Cosgrove. It was a missed opportunity. </p>
<p>In 2012, the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/Completed_inquiries/2010-13/dlapiper/report/index">DLA Piper Review</a> into physical, sexual and other abuse in the ADF recommended a royal commission. It also didn’t go anywhere, and was another opportunity missed. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/bringing-the-war-home-the-rising-disability-claims-of-afghanistan-war-vets-56021">Bringing the war home: the rising disability claims of Afghanistan war vets</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>In 2014, the former head of the <a href="http://www.defence.gov.au/annualreports/13-14/features/feature-supporting-the-defence-abuse-response-taskforce.asp">Defence Abuse Response Taskforce</a>, Major General Len Roberts-Smith, recommended a royal commission into <a href="https://sabest.org.au/media/older-releases/dart-misses-the-target-defence-abuse-whitewash/">systemic abuses</a> at the Australian Defence Force Academy. But Elizabeth Broderick, the sex discrimination commissioner, argued <a href="http://www.defence.gov.au/FOI/Docs/Disclosures/MINDEF-001-1617-Document.pdf">against it</a> and instead recommended an Australian Crime Commission (ACC) <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/australian-defence-force-academy-abuse-royal-commission-rejected/news-story/0413f7fc6421e6b8a991a892aaeba2fe">taskforce</a> with independent powers to investigate allegations of ADF abuse. Another opportunity missed.</p>
<p>Abuse, institutional mismanagement and military suicide seem to go <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-03/lambie-calls-for-royal-commission-into-military-top-brass/5717242">hand-in-hand</a>, but the current call for a royal commission into veteran suicide is still being denied. </p>
<p>Darren Chester, the minister for defence personnel and veteran’s affairs, has said <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-12/nsw-rsl-backs-royal-commission-call-into-veterans/11201504">the money it would cost to hold a royal commission</a> would be better spent on mental health. </p>
<p>The Ex-Service Organisation Round Table (ESORT), a group of 14 veteran organisations, has also come out <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RoyalCommissionIntoTheDepartmentOfVeteransAffairs/photos/a.464781690387008/1081429322055572/?type=3&amp;theater">against a royal commission</a>, maintaining that suicide is a national crisis, and not veteran-specific. </p>
<p>The war cry from the <a href="https://www.dva.gov.au/about-dva/media-centre/veteran-mental-health-and-wellbeing-summit-statement">Veteran Mental Health and Wellbeing Summit</a>, convened by the DVA this year in response to the call for a royal commission, is to “keep on keeping on”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286995/original/file-20190806-36358-937pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286995/original/file-20190806-36358-937pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286995/original/file-20190806-36358-937pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286995/original/file-20190806-36358-937pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286995/original/file-20190806-36358-937pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286995/original/file-20190806-36358-937pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286995/original/file-20190806-36358-937pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Veterans’ Affairs Minister ­Darren Chester has said he can’t ‘see the point’ of a royal commission.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mick Tsikas/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Putting veterans first</h2>
<p>Significant money continues to be invested in the mental health of service members, yet veterans continue to take their own lives. More Australian veterans have lost their life by suicide than have been <a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/war_casualties">killed in active duty since Vietnam.</a></p>
<p>If the government’s slogan is “<a href="https://www.dva.gov.au/about-dva/legislation/current-bills-and-acts/australian-veterans-recognition-putting-veterans-and">putting veterans and their families first</a>”, so far, it has fallen short. </p>
<p>A royal commission will either piece together deficiencies within the ADF and DVA systems or prove to the public that ADF members and veterans are in safe protective hands.</p>
<p>To spend <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/veterans-mp-darren-chester-cant-see-point-of-royal-commission-despite-shock-admission/news-story/2f976d1e076dd53c3b3f641440d33b8a">A$100 million</a> on a royal commission – the amount proffered by Chester – is a small price to pay to ensure that veterans and their families are put first, both in theory and in practice.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Anyone seeking support and information about suicide can contact Lifeline on 131 114 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119599/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deborah Morris is a member of the Returned Services League Queensland, . </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Wadham receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Ben Is a member of the Australian Peacekeepers and Peacekeeping Veterans Association (AAPVA).</span></em></p>A recent study found that male veterans under 30 have a suicide rate more than two times the national average. Yet, support for a royal commission into the problem is lacking.Deborah Morris, Military analyst, Griffith UniversityBen Wadham, Associate Professor, School of Education, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1206192019-07-23T11:02:48Z2019-07-23T11:02:48ZSexual harassment is a real problem in the armed forces – and offences are not being 'properly recorded'<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285130/original/file-20190722-11343-zpi3he.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s been a 35% rise in Ministry of Defence <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/790324/20190321-Sexual_Offences_Statistics_2018_report-FINAL.pdf">sexual offence investigations</a> over the past two years – with 60% of those in the British Army. These figures, published earlier this year by the UK government, show that 153 investigations were conducted in 2018. Of these, 18 were for historical offences – and the most common form of investigation was for sexual assault, followed by rape.</p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/817838/20190607_Defence_Report_Inappropriate_Behaviours_Final_ZKL.pdf">review</a> also found a “significant number” of military personnel have experienced “bullying, discrimination and harassment” – with women and ethnic minorities more likely to be involved in disputes.</p>
<p>The Wigston review <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/817838/20190607_Defence_Report_Inappropriate_Behaviours_Final_ZKL.pdf">by air Chief marshal Wigston</a>, which was published in July 2019, investigated inappropriate behaviour in the UK’s armed forces. The review also highlighted a woeful lack of data on sexual offences within the military. And that the data that is available indicates there is a significant problem. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48993201">According to the human rights group</a> Liberty, the Ministry of Defence is not recording allegations “properly or accurately”.</p>
<p>Indeed, after the <a href="https://metoomvmt.org/">#MeToo</a> campaign, the 2018 <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/736177/20180821_Sexual_harassment_report_2018_OS.PDF">Army Sexual Harassment report</a> found that 73% of women questioned reported inappropriate and unwelcome comments and that 20% had experienced inappropriate sexual touching. It also found that 8% of women had been involved in a serious sexual assault and 3% reported being raped. Only 10% of these women made a formal complaint – and of those complaining 70% said they were dissatisfied with the outcome.</p>
<p>The Wigston review makes it clear that the few who persist in orchestrating inappropriate behaviour have no place in the armed forces. And to meet this challenge the report makes <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wigston-review-into-inappropriate-behaviours">36 recommendations</a>. These are focused towards prevention, improved training and better support for those affected by incidents of inappropriate behaviour. </p>
<p>As someone who has served in the army, looking at the 36 recommendations gives me some optimism. But while I applaud a zero tolerance approach to this, it must be questioned why previous policies and training have failed to erase this blight on the British armed forces.</p>
<h2>Not properly recorded</h2>
<p>The Wigston review came about because of a series of allegations of inappropriate behaviour by members of the British armed forces. One allegation involved a <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/army-sexual-assault-soldiers-arrest-attack-mod-military-a8857571.html">17-year-old female soldier</a> and a group of six male soldiers. </p>
<p>When the Wigston inquiry was commissioned in April 2019 by the then secretary of state for defence <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2019-04-10/debates/19041011000007/ArmedForcesStandardsAndValues">Gavin Williamson</a>, the primary focus of the review was clear, sexual misconduct in any form was not to be tolerated in the armed forces. Williamson said that more needed to be done to prevent inappropriate behaviour – with <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48993201">better support</a> for those affected. </p>
<p>The 2018 House of Commons <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmwomeq/725/725.pdf">Fifth report</a> into sexual harassment in the workplace mirrored some of the findings from the Wigston report. It also highlighted that there is no clear understanding of the extent of the problem, due to no single way of collecting data. The report also said that employers must do more to protect their workers and provide better training for their staff.</p>
<h2>Scale of the problem</h2>
<p>High profile campaigns such as #MeToo and <a href="https://www.timesupnow.com/">Time’s Up</a>, have placed a spotlight on sexual abuse in the workplace. So it’s not surprising that the second largest employer in the UK – the British armed forces – is also under scrutiny. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285133/original/file-20190722-11339-10s95o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285133/original/file-20190722-11339-10s95o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=399&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285133/original/file-20190722-11339-10s95o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=399&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285133/original/file-20190722-11339-10s95o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=399&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285133/original/file-20190722-11339-10s95o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=502&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285133/original/file-20190722-11339-10s95o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=502&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285133/original/file-20190722-11339-10s95o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=502&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Wigston report found that service personnel kept quiet about bullying and other abuses for career reasons.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>Sexual misconduct is not a new problem within the military. The Ministry of Defence has collected data since 2006, as part of their agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission. While data collection alone does not alter behaviour, all members of the armed forces also undertake service level equality and diversity training, which covers sexual harassment and abuse. </p>
<p>Yet after 20 years of education, hard-hitting campaigns and <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/mod-anti-rape-campaign-launched-with-shocking-posters-of-army-sex-attacks-10413865.html">an anti-rape focus</a> inappropriate behaviour continues. </p>
<h2>Tackling the issue</h2>
<p>But of course, the military ultimately reflects wider society: that’s where the armed forces recruits from and once military service ends, ex-service personnel then rejoin that same society. So while it’s clear the UK armed forces has its own specific problems surrounding rape and sexual harassment, this is of course a much wider issue.</p>
<p>Indeed, a BBC survey found <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41741615">half of women</a> in the UK workplace had been sexually harassed. <a href="https://www.crimesurvey.co.uk/en/index.html">The Crime Survey for England and Wales</a> estimates that 20% of women and 4% of men have experienced some type of sexual assault since the age of 16. This is equivalent to <a href="https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get-informed/about-sexual-violence/statistics-sexual-violence/">3.4m female and 631,000 male victims</a>.</p>
<p>Perhaps then the fact that there has been a rise in sexual assault and rape investigations from the Ministry of Defence – including historic cases – is a good sign, as it shows more people feel able to speak out on this difficult issue.</p>
<p>This is important because for things to change, everyone in the armed forces must play their part in prevention and helping to change the culture. Perhaps this is where one of the Wigston report <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/817838/20190607_Defence_Report_Inappropriate_Behaviours_Final_ZKL.pdf">recommendations</a> – that being a passive bystander is not acceptable – will really help to make a difference.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120619/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christina Dodds is a member of the Royal British Legion and is a member of the Queen Alexandra Royal Army Nursing Corps Association.</span></em></p>There's a woeful lack of data on sexual offences within the military. And the data that is available indicates there is a significant problem.Christina Dodds, Graduate Tutor, Social Work, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1205742019-07-18T09:00:55Z2019-07-18T09:00:55ZAustralian universities must wake up to the risks of researchers linked to China's military<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/284670/original/file-20190718-116552-19ch995.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Two universities are conducting internal reviews of research collaborations linked to the suppression and surveillance of the Uyghur minority in western China.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tracey Nearmy/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Two Australian universities, University of Technology Sydney and Curtin University, are <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-16/australian-unis-to-review-links-to-chinese-surveillance-tech/11309598">conducting internal reviews</a> of their funding and research approval procedures after <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/tell-the-world/11311228">Four Corners’ revealed their links</a> to researchers whose work has materially assisted China’s human rights abuses against the <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-who-are-the-uyghurs-and-why-is-the-chinese-government-detaining-them-111843">Uyghur minority</a> in Xinjiang province.</p>
<p>UTS, in particular, is in the spotlight because of a major research collaboration with CETC, the Chinese state-owned military research conglomerate. In <a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/news/media-contacts/uts-statement-four-corners">a response to Four Corners</a>, UTS expressed dismay at the allegations of human rights violations in Xinjiang, which were <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/05/01/chinas-algorithms-repression/reverse-engineering-xinjiang-police-mass-surveillance">raised in a Human Rights Watch report earlier this year</a>.</p>
<p>Yet, UTS has been aware of concerns about its collaboration with CETC for two years. When I met with two of the university’s deputy vice chancellors in 2017 to ask them about their work with CETC, they dismissed the concerns.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/four-corners-forced-labour-expose-shows-why-you-might-be-wearing-slave-made-clothes-115462">Four Corners’ forced labour exposé shows why you might be wearing slave-made clothes</a>
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<p>According to a report for the Jamestown Foundation, CETC openly <a href="https://jamestown.org/program/a-model-company-cetc-celebrates-10-years-of-civil-military-integration/">declares</a> that its purpose is “leveraging civilian electronics for the gain of the PLA (People’s Liberation Army).” Similar concerns had been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jun/03/csiro-cooperation-with-chinese-defence-contractor-should-raise-questions">raised</a> about CETC’s military links and its work with the CSIRO.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/alex-joske">Alex Joske</a>, now an analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and I had also uncovered a pattern of widespread research collaborations between academics at Australian universities and Chinese scientists and corporations connected to China’s armed forces and security services. </p>
<p>Along with UTS, ANU and UNSW are the most heavily invested. Some of the collaborations have been partly funded by the Australian Research Council. Some of our research was published in <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/australian-university-boosting-chinas-military">June</a> and <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/world/australian-universities-are-helping-chinas-military-surpass-the-united-states-20171024-gz780x.html">October</a> 2017.</p>
<p>Some universities challenged over their associations have reacted defensively. Responding to a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/sep/19/faustian-bargain-defence-fears-over-australian-universitys-100m-china-partnership">story</a> questioning the wisdom of UNSW’s huge commitment to a China-funded “Torch Technology Park”, DVC Brian Boyle <a href="https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/general/chinese-partnerships-are-vital-universities-and-global-research">dismissed</a> the evidence and suggested the criticisms were motivated by xenophobia.</p>
<p>When UTS teamed up with CETC in 2016 to collaborate on research projects worth A$10 million in its <a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/news/tech-design/uts-centre-promote-research-and-commercialisation">CETC Research Institute on Smart Cities</a>, CETC was already working with the Chinese state to improve the world’s most comprehensive and oppressive system of surveillance and control of its citizens.</p>
<p>CETC is upfront about its Smart Cities work, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Invasion-Clive-Hamilton-ebook/dp/B079WWT29L">saying it includes</a> “public security early warning preventative and supervisory abilities” and “cyberspace control abilities.” A report by the official Xinhua news agency in 2016 noted that CETC’s work on smart cities “integrates and connects civilian-military dual-use technologies.”</p>
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<h2>Defence controls</h2>
<p>When asked about their collaborations with Chinese experts in military and security technology, universities have typically responded that all of their research proposals comply with the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2012A00153">Defence Trade Controls Act</a>, which restricts the export of technologies, including IP, deemed sensitive.</p>
<p>They were able to tick the right boxes on the relevant forms because it was possible to describe the planned research as “civilian.” But even well-informed amateurs know that the traditional distinction between civilian and military research no longer applies because major civilian technologies, like big data, satellite navigation and facial recognition technology, are used in modern weapons systems and citizen surveillance.</p>
<p>At the urging of President Xi Jinping, China’s government has been rapidly <a href="https://www.aspi.org.au/report/picking-flowers-making-honey">implementing a policy of “civilian-military fusion.”</a></p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/patriotic-songs-and-self-criticism-why-china-is-re-educating-muslims-in-mass-detention-camps-99592">Patriotic songs and self-criticism: why China is 're-educating' Muslims in mass detention camps</a>
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<p>UNSW scientists <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273117712005777#!">have collaborated with experts</a> from the National University of Defence Technology (NUDT), a top military research centre, on China’s Beidou satellite system, which has many civilian as well as military uses, including tracking the movements of people and guiding missiles.</p>
<p>Joske found that some two dozen NUDT-linked researchers have passed through UNSW as visiting scholars or PhD students in the last decade. A further 14 have passed through ANU. Some have backgrounds working on classified Chinese defence projects. </p>
<p>Having visited and studied at Australian institutions, these researchers, who hold rank in the People’s Liberation Army, return to China with deep international networks, advanced training, and access to research that is yet to be classified. In many cases, <a href="https://www.aspi.org.au/report/picking-flowers-making-honey">a clear connection can be drawn</a> between the work that PLA personnel have done in Australia and specific projects they undertake for the Chinese military.</p>
<p>The same can be said for companies like CETC that take research output from Australian researchers and apply it to the security and surveillance technology used across China.</p>
<p>“Orwellian” seems inadequate for the types of surveillance and security technologies being implemented in China. Facial recognition scanners have even been <a href="https://www.techinasia.com/chinas-public-toilets-facial-recognition-xi-jinping">set up in toilets</a> to allocate the proper amount of toilet paper. The state tells you whether you can wipe your backside.</p>
<h2>Fixing the system</h2>
<p>Some universities <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/australian-universities-are-helping-chinas-military-surpass-the-united-states-20171024-gz780x.html">pass the buck by saying</a> that the department of immigration is responsible for any security concerns when assessing visa applications for researchers. (Now the authorities are doing more checks, but the universities are grumbling because visas for Chinese scientists are taking too long.)</p>
<p>The universities’ refusal to accept any responsibility tells us there is a cultural problem. Most university executives believe that international scientific collaboration is a pure public good because it contributes to the betterment of humankind — and, of course, the bottom line. </p>
<p>So asking them more carefully to assess and rule out some kinds of research goes against the grain.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/the-world-has-a-hard-time-trusting-china-but-does-it-really-care-119807">The world has a hard time trusting China. But does it really care?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>All of this suggests that the system is broken. The fact remains that Chinese military scientists and researchers at companies like CETC have been returning to China with improved knowledge of how to build better weapons and more Orwellian surveillance systems. </p>
<p>American universities are now alive to the problem <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/2171823/us-medical-school-bars-foreign-scientists-over-intellectual">by looking much more closely</a> at the China links of scientists working in the US. So, in April 2018, it was reassuring to see the Australian minister of defence, Marise Payne, <a href="https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/minister/marise-payne/media-releases/defence-trade-controls-act-review">commission</a> an inquiry into the effectiveness of the defence trade controls regime.</p>
<p>However, when it came time, the <a href="http://www.defence.gov.au/publications/reviews/tradecontrols/Docs/DTC_Act_Review_Final_Report.pdf">report</a> failed to recognise Australia’s new security environment, especially the risks posed by China’s aggressive program of acquiring technology from abroad. It accepted the university view that the system is working fine and, apart from a few recommended adjustments to the existing Defence Trade Controls Act, kicked the can down the road.</p>
<p>In short, defence and security organisations, who can see how the world has changed, lost out to those who benefit from an open international research environment, one that has been heavily exploited by Beijing for its own benefit. </p>
<p>In the US, federal science funding authorities <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/04/exclusive-major-us-cancer-center-ousts-asian-researchers-after-nih-flags-their-foreign">have been sending the message</a> that continued funding will be contingent on universities applying more due diligence to the national security impacts of their overseas research collaborations. We can expect to see something similar in Australia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120574/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clive Hamilton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>China’s aggressive program of acquiring technology from abroad should be a cause of concern for Australian universities. Yet, our system of vetting research collaborations is clearly broken.Clive Hamilton, Professor of Public Ethics, Centre For Applied Philosophy & Public Ethics (CAPPE), Charles Sturt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1137072019-05-29T12:34:33Z2019-05-29T12:34:33ZCongressional action on Yemen may be the first salvo against presidential war powers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276890/original/file-20190528-42588-e4pxon.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Police officers loyal to the Houthi rebels march during a military parade in Sanaa, Yemen in July 2017. The placards read: &#39;Allah is the greatest. Death to America, death to Israel, a curse on the Jews, victory to Islam.&#39;</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pictures.reuters.com/CS.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0FCIDB2B7QK&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1244&amp;RH=716&amp;POPUPPN=40&amp;POPUPIID=2C0BF1SCR3BZ9">REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Trump administration on May 24 announced an emergency declaration to sell billions of dollars worth of arms to Saudi Arabia <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-arms/defying-congress-trump-sets-8-billion-plus-in-weapons-sales-to-saudi-arabia-uae-idUSKCN1SU25R">without congressional approval</a>. </p>
<p>This comes just a month after <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/04/04/congress-makes-history-war-yemen-powers-bill/">Congress passed legislation</a> demanding the halt of U.S. aid for the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen against Houthi rebels loosely aligned with Iran.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/16/us/politics/trump-veto-yemen.html">President Trump vetoed the measure</a>, but reports cast this confrontation as a major challenge to <a href="https://apnews.com/263d2069e3a0450b9f6329d01004de0c">executive war powers</a>. </p>
<p>How Congress responds to the emergency arms sales may signal whether the Yemen vote represents an isolated event or the first salvo in a campaign to limit the president’s foreign policy powers. </p>
<p><a href="https://mershoncenter.osu.edu/people/faculty/r-joseph-parrott.html">My current research examines</a> individuals who once saw Congress as a check on presidential interventionism abroad. After the Vietnam War, legislators like <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/Featured_Bio_ChurchFrank.htm">Frank Church</a> and <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/nelson-mandela-iowa-dick-clark-101545">Dick Clark</a> wanted to rethink national security structures and priorities. Their foreign policy revolt inspired the <a href="https://www.loc.gov/law/help/war-powers.php">War Powers Act of 1973</a>, the law Congress used to express its disapproval of Saudi aid.</p>
<p>Revisiting this history – and the difficulty legislators have had reigning in presidential power – provides context for analyzing recent events.</p>
<h2>The birth of the imperial presidency</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript">Constitution’s</a> separation of powers is at the heart of the current conflict between Trump and Congress. Separation of powers means each branch of government has distinct but overlapping duties, making negotiation and compromise necessary in forging policies.</p>
<p>In terms of foreign affairs, the president manages diplomacy while the Congress funds it, regulates commerce and approves treaties. </p>
<p>But when it comes to war powers, the Constitution is vague.</p>
<p>Congress – with two bodies, 535 members and a tendency toward deliberation – has the sole right “To declare war, [and] grant letters of marque and reprisal,” the latter being 18th century methods of limited warfare. </p>
<p>The more nimble presidency directs and deploys the armed forces as commander-in-chief.</p>
<p>The terse Constitution says little about how the two bodies should manage these divided responsibilities. Presidential prerogative generally won the day as U.S. power grew in the 19th century, though not without periodic dissent. Most of the <a href="https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs52/m1/1/high_res_d/93-890f_1993Oct07.html">200 plus foreign military deployments</a> in U.S. history – <a href="https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/h_multi_sections_and_teasers/WarDeclarationsbyCongress.htm">which include only five declared wars</a> – lacked advanced congressional authorization.</p>
<p>This history of executive-legislative jockeying is largely absent from discussions of foreign policy due to the politics of the early Cold War. <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/foreword">As communist paranoia and the threat of nuclear weapons stoked domestic unease</a>, Congress empowered the executive branch.</p>
<p>Congress had earlier given up control of key <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/export-import-bank">trade</a> and <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/bretton-woods">economic</a> powers during the Roosevelt era. Now it embraced long-taboo collective security treaties and conceded to unilateral military deployments and covert operations championed by the White House.</p>
<p>Most legislators agreed the United States had a global mission and the president was best positioned to guide it. “Politics,” as the motto paraphrasing Republican <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/Featured_Bio_Vandenberg.htm">Sen. Arthur Vandenberg</a> went, “must stop at the water’s edge.”</p>
<p>Disagreements over emphasis or direction usually occurred in private meetings or at the edges of budget requests. This expanded executive authority gave rise to what some scholars call the “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-renewed-imperial-presidency">imperial presidency</a>,” a term coined by <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Imperial_Presidency.html?id=zbLO9aNL6ncC">Arthur Schlesinger Jr. in 1973</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276390/original/file-20190524-187157-1vu8xqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276390/original/file-20190524-187157-1vu8xqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=394&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276390/original/file-20190524-187157-1vu8xqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=394&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276390/original/file-20190524-187157-1vu8xqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=394&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276390/original/file-20190524-187157-1vu8xqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=495&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276390/original/file-20190524-187157-1vu8xqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=495&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276390/original/file-20190524-187157-1vu8xqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=495&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Vietnam War challenged the political status quo and inspired a more assertive Congress.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Watchf-AP-I-VNM-APHS375391-Vietnam-War/f1e8b3da274d449e93bdd2c9f67f2103/302/0">AP Photo</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The congressional revolt of the 1970s</h2>
<p>Only when the Vietnam War shattered this consensus did Congress embrace new structures to constrain presidential power. A generation of politicians that historian <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/congress-and-the-cold-war/AC56D1393B6ECFE6250D8C2FBC9E4091">Robert David Johnson calls “the new internationalists”</a> used anger over the unpopular war to champion an alternative vision of U.S. foreign policy.</p>
<p>These leaders rejected strict anti-communism and militarist interventions in favor of diplomacy, cooperative aid and reduced defense spending. They also sought to place legislative constraints on executive privilege.</p>
<p>This revolt used the traditional powers of Congress. <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/investigations/ChurchCommittee.htm">The Church Committee</a> investigated and publicized covert operations in 1975. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/12/20/why-congress-has-finally-moved-stop-trump-yemen/?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.90a90aa11cde">The Clark Amendment to the 1976 Arms Export Control Act</a> forbade distribution of aid to anti-communists in Angola. </p>
<p>There were also new laws. The 1974 <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/97unclass/wagenen.html">Hughes-Ryan Amendment</a> to the Foreign Assistance Act requires that the executive branch disclose covert operations to key congressional committees.</p>
<p>Even more bold was the <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-87/pdf/STATUTE-87-Pg555.pdf">War Powers Act</a>, which passed over Richard Nixon’s veto in 1973. This joint resolution requires Congress to approve any deployment of American military forces within 60 days. </p>
<p>Though the War Powers Act formalized congressional authority and tried to limit when presidents could use unilateral force, it could not reverse over a century of accepted practice. The act yields to the president the ability to deploy troops proactively and specifically excludes covert operations from the approval process. Effectively, Congress recognized the imperial presidency even as it sought to limit it.</p>
<p>Reluctantly supported by the new internationalists, the act was a vaguely worded compromise that reflected a hard reality. The centrist critics who passed the law chafed at Vietnam, Watergate and the Nixon administration’s secretive handling of foreign affairs, but they could not fully abandon the Cold War or the presidential authority used to fight it.</p>
<h2>What comes next</h2>
<p>Even this qualified moment of congressional reassertion proved short-lived. Ronald Reagan’s revival of anti-communist rhetoric mobilized voters against the new internationalists, weakening the appetite for congressional assertiveness.</p>
<p>The Cold War mission still championed by many legislators transitioned to the militarized humanitarianism of the 1990s – as in Somalia and Haiti. Still later came anti-terrorism after 9/11. The responsive, flexible power of the presidency seemed best suited to handle these new political realities.</p>
<p>Indeed, Congress has been loath to use its war powers since the 1970s. It has provided blanket authorizations for military operations across the world. This famously occurred with 2001’s broadly defined <a href="https://www.congress.gov/107/plaws/publ40/PLAW-107publ40.pdf">Authorization for Use of Military Force</a> that continues to legitimize interventions in Somalia and Yemen as part of the War on Terror. </p>
<p>Even when Congress has refused such authorizations – notably in <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-13908202">Libya in 2011</a> – it has not effectively challenged presidential prerogative. Barack Obama sidestepped an irked Congress by claiming that supporting NATO in Libya did not <a href="https://www.jurist.org/news/2011/06/state-department-legal-adviser-obama-acting-lawfully-in-libya">constitute hostilities</a> and therefore did not require legislative permission.</p>
<p>Indeed, it seems congressional acquiescence to the imperial presidency remains even in today’s divided Congress. Though championed by legislators with deep reservations about U.S. policy, the <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/yemen-war-us-involvement-758414/">long-simmering Yemen issue</a> only gained political traction due to President Trump’s missteps in the Middle East. His <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-veto-saudi-arabia-yemen-military-aid-jamal-khashoggi-2019-4">tepid public response to Jamal Khashoggi’s murder</a> combined with his waffling on regional troop commitments, causing consternation among Republicans and centrist Democrats. </p>
<p>It’s no coincidence that the monthslong Yemen debate book-ended the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-congress/senate-rebukes-trump-advances-measure-on-syria-troops-idUSKCN1PP330">Senate’s rebuke</a> of Trump’s planned withdrawal of troops from Syria. Taken together, these votes signal that legislators are leery of Trump’s unpredictability and unprincipled rhetoric, but many still stand behind an interventionist foreign policy led by a powerful executive branch.</p>
<p>There is a minority associated with the Democratic Party who want to challenge this consensus. Bernie Sanders has been the most prominent voice urging a reevaluation of American foreign policy with a <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/yemen-israel-palestine-washington-war-powers/">strong Congress as a key player</a>. </p>
<p>Yet history shows how difficult it will be to seriously alter the dominant national mindset and the executive-legislative balance of power in foreign affairs. How Congress responds to the president’s ongoing efforts to aid Saudi Arabia – and how it uses its powers to limit unilateral executive actions more broadly – will prove whether it is truly reasserting its constitutional authority.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113707/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>R. Joseph Parrott is affiliated with Westerville Progressive Alliance. </span></em></p>Political fallout from the Vietnam War gave Congress more power to control foreign affairs, but they have been reluctant to use it.R. Joseph Parrott, Assistant Professor of History, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1148872019-05-29T08:58:11Z2019-05-29T08:58:11ZFemale military peacekeepers left feeling overwhelmed after inadequate training<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276798/original/file-20190528-42571-1rbblfo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rwandan peacekeepers in Mali in 2014. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/un_photo/14283028072/sizes/l">United Nations Photo</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Female military peacekeepers deployed to complex UN missions often feel overwhelmed and ill-prepared when providing assistance to local women and girls who’ve been the victims of violence. </p>
<p>The UN expects female peacekeepers around the world to <a href="https://www.cfr.org/report/increasing-female-participation-peacekeeping-operations">improve the effectiveness of missions</a> by gaining access to members of local communities that male peacekeepers cannot reach. But <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13533312.2018.1503934">my recent research</a> in Rwanda showed that women peacekeepers need more support. </p>
<p>I looked at whether the kind of training women from the Rwanda Defence Force received before their deployment in mixed-gender battalions to the <a href="https://unamid.unmissions.org/">UN Mission in Darfur</a> (UNAMID) and the <a href="https://unmiss.unmissions.org/">UN Mission in South Sudan</a> (UNMISS) was sufficient for the challenges they would face on their mission. I asked 24 Rwandan women from the military awaiting deployment and 22 who had returned from missions about their perceptions of the training they received, and how it related to the expectations and realities of working in UN and African Union (AU) peace operations.</p>
<h2>Insufficiently prepared</h2>
<p>Women waiting to deploy felt confident that the training equipped them for all <a href="https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/protection-of-civilians-mandate">protection of civilian tasks</a> they would be assigned. But women who’d returned from dangerous peace operations felt the pre-deployment training didn’t adequately equip them. They found it especially challenging to handle complex cases where women and girls had experienced sexual violence related to conflict, were extremely traumatised, or required urgent assistance. These challenges were exacerbated by the difficulty of communicating with local woman through an interpreter – a skill that had to be learnt on the job in difficult circumstances.</p>
<p>A 27-year-old liaison oﬃcer, who was critical of the military training’s emphasis on processes and procedures, suggested that “more information on the psychological impact violence has on survivors” was required. She said encountering gender-based violence in camps for internally displaced people (IDP) “was not easy” and the training hadn’t prepared her for sustained engagement with survivors. She added:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When I was on the ground and reached the [IDP] camp, you ﬁnd this person who was raped for two or three hours and the people around her don’t want to communicate, they don’t care about what happened. You get this person, you put her in touch with the NGOs, you take her to hospital, but you need to spend three or four hours with her.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The women I interviewed also felt overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the assistance local communities required in Darfur and South Sudan. One 30-year-old major who deployed as a mechanic in UNAMID said there weren’t enough female peacekeepers to make a real impact.</p>
<h2>Gender biased training</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276799/original/file-20190528-42546-5qgeeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276799/original/file-20190528-42546-5qgeeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=898&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276799/original/file-20190528-42546-5qgeeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=898&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276799/original/file-20190528-42546-5qgeeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=898&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276799/original/file-20190528-42546-5qgeeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1129&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276799/original/file-20190528-42546-5qgeeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1129&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276799/original/file-20190528-42546-5qgeeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1129&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Peacekeepers from the UN Mission in Sudan in 2011.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/un_photo/6127493530/sizes/l">United Nations Photo</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While gender advisers and military observers receive specialist community engagement training, most tactical-level female peacekeepers, like their male colleagues, receive military-led training two to three months prior to deployment. Typically, the programme comprises a mixture of training sessions in the classroom and field exercises designed by both the UN and local military. </p>
<p>These sessions introduce theoretical concepts but don’t provide practical knowledge about how people behave directly after experiencing violence, forms of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, and what to do during contact with survivors. Nor does the training desensitise peacekeepers in preparation for the distressing situations they’re likely to witness. One 32-year-old second lieutenant reflected on what was missing:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We study gender issues theoretically, but in the mission area, when we start putting theory into practice, there are challenges. In training, my mate acts as a refugee and I act as I’m going to help her. But that is like theatre – you can’t grasp the reality well.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Gender biases also play a role. In Rwanda, senior leaders and trainers told me that female peacekeepers naturally knew how to respond to local women’s needs by dint of being the same sex. They believed women inherently possessed the required skill set, incorporating the traditional feminine traits of empathy, compassion, communication and the ability to care for vulnerable people. </p>
<p>There was also an assumption circulating that Rwandan women were good at providing victim assistance because of the country’s own history of conflict, where some <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/world/2017/06/11/rwandas-children-of-rape-are-coming-of-age-against-the-odds/?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.22a411aa8fcb">350,000 to 500,000 women were raped</a> during the civil war and genocide in 1994. Women awaiting deployment on peackeeping missions appeared to have internalised this stereotype, even though more than half of those I interviewed were between 18- and 23-years-old and born after 1994. This self-stereotyping resulted in a false confidence among the trainee peacekeepers that they were equipped to counsel and support traumatised women and girls.</p>
<h2>Training partnerships</h2>
<p>Rwandan female police peacekeepers I spoke to who had worked in UN missions in Darfur, South Sudan and Haiti, hadn’t felt as ill-prepared as their military colleagues. According to one senior female police peacekeeper, community engagement was a big part of their day-to-day job in Rwanda and they had significant experience helping those affected by violence. Yet currently, the Rwanda National Police and the Rwanda Defence Force run separate training programmes.</p>
<p>To help mitigate some of the issues I’ve found in my research, the police and military could share good practice and develop joint pre-deployment training sessions on the implementation of the UN’s protection of civilians mandate, including providing assistance to victims. At the same time, the UN, regional organisations and those countries that contribute troops to peacekeeping missions <a href="https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/monthly-forecast/2019-05/peacekeeping-2.php">should continue to work together</a> to strengthen their training.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114887/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Georgina Holmes receives funding from the Leverhulme Trust.</span></em></p>Interviews with Rwandan women from the military who had served on peacekeeping missions found many felt ill-equipped for what they had to deal with. ​Georgina Holmes, Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow, University of ReadingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1172362019-05-24T13:02:13Z2019-05-24T13:02:13ZDoping soldiers so they fight better – is it ethical?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276123/original/file-20190523-187176-1bdn0zf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A waxwork of Captain America on display at Madame Tussauds in Bangkok, Thailand. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bangkok-july-22-waxwork-captain-america-302674247?src=uDJsZqGalBddn6FkQUoHTw-1-13">Nuamfolio/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The military is constantly using technology to build better ships, warplanes, guns and armor. Shouldn’t it also use drugs to build better soldiers?</p>
<p>Soldiers have long taken drugs to help them fight. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16018329">Amphetamines like Dexedrine were distributed widely</a> to American, German, British and other forces during World War II and to U.S. service members in Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. In 1991, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/19/us/threats-and-responses-military-bombing-error-puts-a-spotlight-on-pilots-pills.html">Air Force chief-of-staff stopped the practice</a> because, in his words, “Jedi knights don’t need them.” But the ban lasted only five years. DARPA, an agency that does cutting-edge research for the U.S. Department of Defense, is trying to make soldiers “kill-proof” by developing super-nutrition pills and substances to <a href="http://www.dana.org/Publications/pressbooks/Details.aspx?id=50128">make them smarter and stronger</a>. New drugs that reduce the need for sleep, such as modafinil, are being tested. Researchers are even looking into <a href="https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a535866.pdf">modifying soldiers’ genes</a>.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://law.case.edu/Our-School/Faculty-Staff/Meet-Our-Faculty/Faculty-Detail/id/135">professor of health law and bioethics</a>, I began studying the use of drugs to enhance performance in sports, and I soon became interested in the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the military. Most people think <a href="http://globalsportsdevelopment.org/2014/01/28/doping-survey-reveals-public-opinion/">doping in sports is harmful cheating</a>; shouldn’t that be how doping in combat is viewed? The answer, I decided, was no: Doping in sports doesn’t produce any meaningful social benefit, but using drugs to improve performance in the military could save lives and make it easier to complete missions.</p>
<p>But the military still needs rules for how performance enhancements should be used. </p>
<h2>Mandatory use</h2>
<p>Can soldiers be ordered to take enhancement drugs? What if the drugs have dangerous side effects? What if there hasn’t been a lot of research on their long-term effects? It’s also important to realize that the risks from performance-enhancing drugs are not only to the soldiers who use them; in 2004, pilots in Afghanistan who accidentally dropped a bomb that killed four Canadian soldiers <a href="https://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2003/030104-speed01.htm">blamed their mistake on being hopped up on amphetamines</a>.</p>
<p>Soldiers generally have to follow orders, so it’s important for their commanders to carefully think through whether use of these drugs should be mandatory or voluntary. Applying a set of principles that I developed to guide <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15027570.2014.992214">bioethical decision-making in the military</a>, superiors should force troops to use enhancement drugs only when the advantages that the drugs provide and the importance of the mission outweigh the risks to the user. <a href="http://jpsl.org/archives/defending-against-biochemical-warfare-ethical-issues-involving-coercive-use-investigational-drugs-and-biologics-military/">Soldiers in the Gulf War were required to take drugs</a> that hadn’t been approved for the purpose for which they were given, which was to try to provide some protection in case Saddam Hussein’s forces resorted to chemical or biological warfare. Congress stepped in and said that troops could be ordered to take drugs for such “off-label” purposes only if the president authorized it directly or declared a national emergency.</p>
<p>Opponents of doping in sports maintain that athletes who win races by doping should not be rewarded. Should we adopt the same policy in the military? Should soldiers who act bravely or shoot straighter with the help of drugs get promotions or medals? If the soldiers are ordered to use the drugs by their commanders, I suggest the answer should be yes, since it doesn’t seem fair to punish them for doing something about which they had no choice, especially if the drugs they were ordered to use could have serious side effects.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276148/original/file-20190523-187143-4sbdn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276148/original/file-20190523-187143-4sbdn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=352&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276148/original/file-20190523-187143-4sbdn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=352&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276148/original/file-20190523-187143-4sbdn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=352&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276148/original/file-20190523-187143-4sbdn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=442&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276148/original/file-20190523-187143-4sbdn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=442&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276148/original/file-20190523-187143-4sbdn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=442&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Should soldiers take steroids to bulk up?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/muscular-male-body-testosterone-hormone-formula-1169361682?src=gNNI4xg4SDagO1a5jn0ZRQ-1-79">BLACKDAY/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<h2>Voluntary use</h2>
<p>What if soldiers take performance-enhancing drugs on their own, or if using them is illegal? A study in 2014 reported that <a href="https://doi.org/10.17226/12095">67% of active-duty service members</a> in all branches of the military took dietary supplements. In special forces like Navy SEALS, the percentage increases to over 75%.</p>
<p>What if these substances actually gave users a performance boost? The most popular doping drugs in sports are <a href="https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/steroids-anabolic">anabolic steroids</a>, which are Schedule III controlled substances that can be purchased legally only by prescription. In most states these can’t legally be prescribed for enhancement purposes. </p>
<p>You might think that the military should test soldiers to see if they were illegally using steroids just like athletes are tested in the Olympics, but currently the <a href="http://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/101016p.pdf">military is not allowed to do random drug testing</a> or “unit sweeps” for steroids. In short, the jury is still out on whether the military should reward or punish military success achieved with the aid of self-help drugs.</p>
<p>A final concern is when performance-enhancing drugs give troops advantages over civilians. Soldiers in the reserves, and those who serve on bases but reside with their families, have both military and civilian lives. What if they compete in sports or intellectual contests with civilians? One solution is to require them to disclose that they are taking enhancement drugs, but this could violate military secrecy and help enemies figure out ways of combating the drugs’ effects. </p>
<p>Some commentators argue that the effects of the drugs must be reversible, but soldiers may regard the advantages they get from the drugs as one of the benefits of being in the service; it could even be a recruiting incentive, like the prospect of being trained in a skill that can land them a good civilian job later.</p>
<p>Proper use of performance-enhancing drugs in the military could shorten wars and save lives. But with the development of more powerful drugs that increase strength and endurance and reduce the need for sleep and food, commanders need to carefully consider the risks to soldiers as well as the benefits for them and their mission.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117236/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maxwell Mehlman receives funding from the National Institutes of Health to study the ethical, legal, and social implications of using genomic technologies to enhance warfighter performance. He also was part of a team funded by the Greenwall Foundation that studied ethical, legal, and social implications of performance enhancement in the military.</span></em></p>Doping is condemned in sports. But what about in the military? Should soldiers be allowed or even encouraged to take drugs that make them superior fighters and more likely to complete a mission?Maxwell Mehlman, Professor of Biomedical Ethics, Case Western Reserve UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1163052019-04-30T12:31:57Z2019-04-30T12:31:57Z'Russian spy whale': the disturbing history of military marine mammals<p>Norwegian fishermen were <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/mystery-whale-found-near-norway-fuels-russian-navy-speculation/a-48536688">reportedly approached</a> recently by a beluga whale wearing a Russian harness, complete with GoPro camera holder, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48090616">sparking speculation</a> that the animal had been trained to gather intelligence by the Russian Navy. While this theory has not been confirmed, it is entirely plausible: armed forces around the world have a long and disturbing history of exploiting marine mammals. </p>
<p>In the late 19th century, European militaries had <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/British_war_dogs.html?id=EKsPAwAAQBAJ&amp;redir_esc=y">come to appreciate</a> that thoroughly-trained and well-handled dogs could perform useful military services, such as finding wounded soldiers on the battlefield and guarding military installations and outposts. Over the course of the 20th century, new roles were found for them: notably, <a href="https://www.uswardogs.org/war-dog-history/types-war-dogs/">detecting mines and explosives</a> during World War II. </p>
<p>Given the success achieved with dogs, it was perhaps inevitable that experiments would begin with other intelligent and trainable animals, including marine mammals. The earliest of these experiments took place during World War I, when Britain’s Royal Navy unsuccessfully attempted to train sea lions to locate German submarines. </p>
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<p>The early training – conducted at a facility on Lake Bala in Gwynedd, Wales – went well. But once the sea lions <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34666242">were released</a> into the open sea, they were generally found to be more interested in pursuing shoals of fish than U-boats – much to the frustration of the officers involved. </p>
<h2>Navy dolphins</h2>
<p>These efforts were revived by the United States and other nations during the Cold War, following the discovery that dolphins use <a href="https://uk.whales.org/whales-dolphins/how-do-dolphins-see-underwater-what-is-echolocation/">echolocation</a> to navigate underwater, emitting high frequency “clicking” sounds and listening for the echos that bounce back off their surroundings to locate and identify nearby objects. </p>
<p>A number of species of marine mammals, including dolphins, porpoises, sea lions, orcas, belugas and pilot whales, drew the attention of rival militaries. Not only do these animals possess extraordinary sensory and physical abilities, they can also change their behaviour – traits which meant they could be trained to perform much the same tasks at sea that dogs performed on land. </p>
<p>In coldly scientific language – and with little acknowledgement of the sophisticated intelligence and capacity for emotion expressed by these animals – one American manufacturer of military sonar equipment <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/242/4885/1503">described them</a> as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Self-propelled marine vehicle[s], or platform[s]; with a built-in sonar sensor system suitable for detecting and classifying targets; and carrying an on-board computer … capable of being programmed for complex performance.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The US Navy began its marine mammal programme in 1960, originally hoping to both improve the hydrodynamics of its torpedoes, and its ability to detect objects under water, by studying dolphins. Yet the scope of this programme appeared to expand rapidly. Dolphins were soon being trained to locate enemy mines and lost objects on the seabed. </p>
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<p>According to <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/242/4885/1503/tab-pdf">American journalist David Morrison</a>, a team of dolphins was also deployed to South Vietnam to guard the US fleet anchored in Cam Ranh Bay against saboteurs in 1971. He also asserted that navy dolphins were transported to the Persian Gulf in 1987 to detect Iranian mines, and guard against enemy frogmen attempting to attack the US Navy’s floating command post. </p>
<h2>Protests for porpoises</h2>
<p>The use of these animals for military purposes has caused much controversy over the years. One of the more disturbing questions concerns what exactly these dolphins have been trained to do, should they encounter enemy saboteurs. In 1976, Michael Greenwood – a veteran of the Navy dolphin project – <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/242/4885/1503">claimed that</a> dolphins assigned to the “swimmer nullification program” were equipped with syringes filled with carbon dioxide to kill intruders.</p>
<p>Despite vehement denials from the US Navy, such allegations have frequently resurfaced. Soviet Russia <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/12190205/Russias-killer-dolphins-seek-five-new-recruits-for-Crimea-programme.html">reportedly trained dolphins</a> in a similar manner at a facility in Crimea on the Black Sea. In 2000, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/670551.stm">the BBC reported</a> that many of these dolphins were sold to Iran, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The facility was re-opened by the Ukrainian Navy in 2012, but since the Russian annexation in 2014 has been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2014/jul/06/ukraine-combat-dolphins-russia-give-back">back in the hands</a> of the Russian Navy (although Ukrainian sources <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/ukraines-dolphin-army-dead-after-refusing-russian-military-takeover-says-kiev-92940">claim that</a> the dolphins have since starved, having refused to accept food from Russian handlers). </p>
<p>The treatment of these animals has been another matter of long-standing concern. David Morrison reported allegations of systematic mistreatment and poor standards of care for animals in the American programme, noting that it had become the focus of animal rights activism. According to <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/242/4885/150">one report</a> in May 1987, “someone billing himself only as ‘Charly Tuna of RainBoWarriors’, cut the nets around four of the San Diego dolphin enclosures”.</p>
<p>Certainly, a great deal of the secrecy continues to surround the military use of sea mammals. And as Morrison observed as far back as 1989, this reflects “the fear of exciting public opposition to its efforts, opposition sparked by the great affinity that so many humans feel for these engaging creatures”. </p>
<p>More recently, animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) <a href="https://www.stripes.com/lifestyle/dolphins-help-navy-steer-clear-in-gulf-1.31649">has protested</a> the US deployment of dolphins to the Persian Gulf, stating: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is not ethical to put animals in harm’s way … War is a human endeavor, and while people and political parties may decide war is necessary, animals cannot.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Whatever the exact origin of the (apparently friendly) beluga whale discovered in Norwegian waters, the story serves as a reminder that marine mammals are still commonly exploited for military purposes in the modern world. Their replacement by robotic submersibles seems, at the moment, a regrettably distant prospect.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116305/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gervase Phillips does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Russia isn't the only nation suspected of training marine mammals for military use – the US, UK, and Ukraine have all done so in the past.Gervase Phillips, Principal Lecturer in History, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1106762019-04-02T09:18:42Z2019-04-02T09:18:42ZAlcohol misuse is more common in the armed forces than post-traumatic stress disorder<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263380/original/file-20190312-86693-4zh0f9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Alcohol has historically been used in the UK armed forces to encourage bonding and to deal with difficult experiences. And while alcohol use is now on the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2018.175">decline</a>, harmful drinking in the forces is still double that of the general population. </p>
<p>To put this in to perspective, about 11% of men and 5% of women in the UK armed forces <a href="https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2018.175">meet the criteria for alcohol misuse</a>. This means they are drinking at a level that is likely to be harmful to their health. </p>
<p>Compare this with about <a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/adult-psychiatric-morbidity-survey/adult-psychiatric-morbidity-survey-survey-of-mental-health-and-wellbeing-england-2014">4% of men and 2% of women in the general population</a>. Yet many of those drinking at a harmful level in the armed forces do not recognise they have a problem.</p>
<h2>A common problem</h2>
<p>People serving in the forces drink alcohol for a range of reasons – <a href="https://doi.org/10.4414/smw.2015.14101">for pleasure</a>, due to social pressures and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.08.029">to cope</a> with either day-to-day stresses or with mental health symptoms. Mental health problems are more common in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291714002980">armed forces</a> so it’s maybe not surprising that alcohol is often used to cope.</p>
<p>The consequences of excessive alcohol consumption are wide reaching and can directly impact <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/733108/alcohol_public_health_burden_evidence_review_update_2018.pdf">families</a> of service men or women. And <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306460317302551">research</a> has also shown that when people leave the armed forces – and the drinking culture – their alcohol consumption does not decrease. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265843/original/file-20190326-36252-bcvxzu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265843/original/file-20190326-36252-bcvxzu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265843/original/file-20190326-36252-bcvxzu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265843/original/file-20190326-36252-bcvxzu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265843/original/file-20190326-36252-bcvxzu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265843/original/file-20190326-36252-bcvxzu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265843/original/file-20190326-36252-bcvxzu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">People in the armed forces often use alcohol to cope.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>Alcohol misuse is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2018.175">more common in the armed forces</a> than post-traumatic stress disorder, yet it receives much less attention. Within this community, only around a third of those who self report an alcohol problem say they’ve sought <a href="https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ps.004972012?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&amp;rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&amp;rfr_dat=cr_pub%3dpubmed">help</a>. This means that the large majority of those who need to reduce their drinking are not doing so. </p>
<h2>Problem drinking</h2>
<p>It’s understandable that the stigma of being labelled “an alcoholic” may put people off going to get help. But there’s also the issue that many of those who would benefit from decreasing their alcohol use don’t actually meet the criteria for an <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03517.x">alcohol use disorder</a>. This is despite the fact that they may be drinking above the recommended <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-consumption-advice-on-low-risk-drinking">guidelines</a>. This is important given recent findings show that even moderate levels of drinking have <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673618313102?via%3Dihub">negative health consequences</a>. </p>
<p>Our preliminary research has found that many people who are worried about their drinking, or who want to keep a track on how much they are consuming, turn to alcohol apps to help monitor and keep and top of the problem. Popular apps include <a href="https://drinklessalcohol.com/">Drink Less</a>, <a href="https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/">Drink Aware</a> and <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/for-your-body/drink-less/">Drink Free Days</a> which encourage users to regularly record and monitor (via visual graphics) their alcohol consumption. </p>
<p>And there is clearly a value to this technology, given research suggests these types of apps can be at least as effective as <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD011479.pub2/full">face-to-face brief interventions for alcohol</a>. </p>
<h2>The research</h2>
<p>Our project, a collaboration between King’s Centre for Military Health Research and University of Liverpool, funded by the Medical Research Council, aimed to find out if an app could also support people in the armed forces to reduce their drinking.</p>
<p>We developed <a href="https://www.index-app.org">an app</a>, to help people <a href="http://doi.org/10.5334/jors.207">monitor and manage their alcohol consumption</a>. The app allows users to set goals, and compare their drinking to civilians and others in the armed forces community. </p>
<p>The algorithms can also autonomously detect changes in behaviour and provide real time support to the patient – while in parallel could be used to alert healthcare professionals to enable intervention. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257597/original/file-20190206-174890-eqs74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257597/original/file-20190206-174890-eqs74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257597/original/file-20190206-174890-eqs74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257597/original/file-20190206-174890-eqs74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257597/original/file-20190206-174890-eqs74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257597/original/file-20190206-174890-eqs74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257597/original/file-20190206-174890-eqs74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How the app looks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Leightley</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To test the app, we ran a four-week study with 31 people in the armed forces who drank at hazardous levels. <a href="https://mhealth.jmir.org/2018/9/e10074/">Our initial findings</a> suggest the app could be useful to help people tackle problems of alcohol misuse. </p>
<p>In our study, we found that participants opened the app on average 29 times during the four week period. All participants used the drink diary function of the app to monitor their alcohol use across the study period. At the start of the study participants consumed a median of 5.6 units per drinking day, which decreased to 4.7 units by the last week. </p>
<p>Though our study did highlight that despite using the app, many of the participants drinking heavily still didn’t feel they had a problem. This may explain why some features of the app such as “goal setting” were not used as much as the drinks diary. </p>
<h2>The right support</h2>
<p><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/abm/kax029">Research</a> has shown that people who are drinking too much ultimately need support to understand more about their own drinking behaviours and how they can cut down – and we hope that our app can help to provide this.</p>
<p>We now hope to further refine the app taking on board feedback received during our feasibility study, culminating in a public release later this year.</p>
<p>So given that harmful drinking in the armed forces is substantially higher compared to the general population and that research has shown how effective digital technologies can be as a health intervention, it is hoped that our app could have the potential to tackle the problem culture of drinking in the UK armed forces.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110676/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Leightley has received funding from Medical Research Council, Forces in Mind Trust and U.S. Department of Defense. The InDEx app mentioned in this article was funded by the Medical Research Council under grant MR/N028244/2. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo-Anne Puddephatt receives funding from the Society for the Study of Addiction. She is affiliated with the Society for the Study of Addiction.. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Goodwin has received funding from the Forces in Mind Trust, Alcohol Change UK, the Economic and Social Research Council and the Medical Research Council.
The InDEx app mentioned in this article was funded by the Medical Research Council under grant MR/N028244/2.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicola Fear has received funding from the MRC, ESRC, the UK Ministry of Defence, the US Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs Canada, the Department of Veteran&#39;s Affairs Australia, the Royal British Legion, the Royal Foundation, Forces in Mind Trust and HM Treasury. She is a trustee of two charities supporting service personnel and veterans and she is a specialist member of the Independent Group Advising NHS Digital on the Release of Data (IGARD). </span></em></p>Harmful drinking in the armed forces is double that of the general population.Daniel Leightley, Postdoctoral Research Associate, King's College LondonJo-Anne Puddephatt, PhD candidate in the Addictions group, University of LiverpoolLaura Goodwin, Senior Lecturer in Epidemiology of Mental Health and Addiction, University of LiverpoolNicola Fear, Director of the King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King's College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1139412019-03-27T12:28:25Z2019-03-27T12:28:25ZKiller robots already exist, and they’ve been here a very long time<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265890/original/file-20190326-36270-hurjwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;rect=0%2C0%2C5600%2C3150&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/3d-render-very-detailed-robot-army-1197070471">Mykola Holyutyak/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Humans will always make the final decision on whether armed robots can shoot, <a href="https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2019/03/us-military-changing-killing-machine-robo-tank-program-after-controversy/155256/">according to a statement</a> by the US Department of Defense. Their clarification comes amid fears about a new advanced targeting system, known as <a href="https://www.fbo.gov/index.php?s=opportunity&amp;mode=form&amp;id=29a4aed941e7e87b7af89c46b165a091&amp;tab=core&amp;_cview=0">ATLAS</a>, that will use artificial intelligence in combat vehicles to target and execute threats. While the public may feel uneasy about <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47524768">so-called “killer robots”</a>, the concept is nothing new – <a href="https://www.wired.com/2007/08/httpwwwnational/">machine-gun wielding “SWORDS” robots</a> were deployed in Iraq as early as 2007.</p>
<p>Our relationship with military robots goes back even further than that. This is because when people say “robot”, they can mean any technology with some form of “autonomous” element that allows it to perform a task without the need for direct human intervention.</p>
<p>These technologies have existed for a very long time. During World War II, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proximity_fuze">proximity fuse</a> was developed to explode artillery shells at a predetermined distance from their target. This made the shells far more effective than they would otherwise have been by augmenting human decision making and, in some cases, taking the human out of the loop completely.</p>
<p>So the question is not so much whether we should use autonomous weapon systems in battle – we already use them, and they take many forms. Rather, we should focus on how we use them, why we use them, and what form – if any – human intervention should take.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266071/original/file-20190327-139364-1n4guap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266071/original/file-20190327-139364-1n4guap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=371&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266071/original/file-20190327-139364-1n4guap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=371&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266071/original/file-20190327-139364-1n4guap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=371&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266071/original/file-20190327-139364-1n4guap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=466&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266071/original/file-20190327-139364-1n4guap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=466&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266071/original/file-20190327-139364-1n4guap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=466&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Autonomous targeting systems originated with innovations in anti-aircraft weaponry during World War II.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/antiaircraft-cannon-military-silhouettes-fighting-scene-1308991861">Zef Art/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The birth of cybernetics</h2>
<p>My research explores the philosophy of human-machine relations, with a particular focus on military ethics, and the way we distinguish between humans and machines. During World War II, mathematician Norbert Wiener laid the groundwork of <a href="https://www.pangaro.com/definition-cybernetics.html">cybernetics</a> – the study of the interface between humans, animals and machines – in his work on the control of anti-aircraft fire. By studying the deviations between an aircraft’s predicted motion, and its actual motion, Wiener and his colleague Julian Bigelow came up with the concept of the “feedback loop”, where deviations could be fed back into the system in order to correct further predictions.</p>
<p>Wiener’s theory therefore went far beyond mere augmentation, for cybernetic technology could be used to pre-empt human decisions – removing the fallible human from the loop, in order to make better, quicker decisions and make weapons systems more effective.</p>
<p>In the years since World War II, the computer has emerged to sit alongside cybernetic theory to form a central pillar of military thinking, from the laser-guided “smart bombs” of the Vietnam era to cruise missiles and Reaper drones.</p>
<p>It’s no longer enough to merely augment the human warrior as it was in the early days. The next phase is to remove the human completely – “maximising” military outcomes while minimising the political cost associated with the loss of allied lives. This has led to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/01/12/reflecting-on-obamas-presidency/obamas-embrace-of-drone-strikes-will-be-a-lasting-legacy">widespread use of military drones</a> by the US and its allies. While these missions are highly controversial, in political terms they have proved to be preferable by far to the public outcry caused by military deaths.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266084/original/file-20190327-139380-ovqdmv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266084/original/file-20190327-139380-ovqdmv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266084/original/file-20190327-139380-ovqdmv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266084/original/file-20190327-139380-ovqdmv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266084/original/file-20190327-139380-ovqdmv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266084/original/file-20190327-139380-ovqdmv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266084/original/file-20190327-139380-ovqdmv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A modern military drone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/combat-drone-fly-blue-sky-above-1302944902">Alex LMX/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The human machine</h2>
<p>One of the most contentious issues relating to drone warfare is the role of the drone pilot or “operator”. Like all personnel, these operators are bound by their employers to “do a good job”. However, the terms of success are far from clear. As philosopher and cultural critic Laurie Calhoun observes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The business of UCAV [drone] operators is to kill.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In this way, their task is not so much to make a human decision, but rather to do the job that they are employed to do. If the computer tells them to kill, is there really any reason why they shouldn’t?</p>
<p>A similar argument can be made with respect to the modern soldier. From GPS navigation to video uplinks, soldiers carry numerous devices that tie them into a vast network that monitors and controls them at every turn.</p>
<p>This leads to an ethical conundrum. If the purpose of the soldier is to follow orders to the letter – with cameras used to ensure compliance – then why do we bother with human soldiers at all? After all, machines are far more efficient than human beings and don’t suffer from fatigue and stress in the same way as a human does. If soldiers are expected to behave in a programmatic, robotic fashion anyway, then what’s the point in shedding unnecessary allied blood?</p>
<p>The answer, here, is that the human serves as an alibi or form of “ethical cover” for what is in reality, an almost wholly mechanical, robotic act. Just as the drone operator’s job is to oversee the computer-controlled drone, so the human’s role in the Department of Defense’s new ATLAS system is merely to act as ethical cover in case things go wrong.</p>
<p>While Predator and Reaper drones may stand at the forefront of the public imagination about military autonomy and “killer robots”, these innovations are in themselves nothing new. They are merely the latest in a long line of developments that go back many decades.</p>
<p>While it may comfort some readers to imagine that machine autonomy will always be subordinate to human decision making, this really does miss the point. Autonomous systems have long been embedded in the military and we should prepare ourselves for the consequences.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113941/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Ryder does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Science fiction has made us vigilant of 'killer robots' in our midst, but they're far closer than many of us realise.Mike Ryder, Associate Lecturer in Philosophy, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1131082019-03-14T10:38:02Z2019-03-14T10:38:02ZWho are the private contractors fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan? An inside look at this invisible military force<p>The debate on privatizing the war in Afghanistan is heating up yet again, with Democratic lawmakers pledging to end so-called “<a href="https://taskandpurpose.com/dem-lawmakers-forever-war">forever wars</a>.” The public is slowly recognizing the war’s <a href="https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2019-01-29/death-disappearance-inside-world-of-privatised-war">hidden costs</a> and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-10/blackwater-mercenary-prince-has-a-new-1-trillion-chinese-boss">global scale</a>. </p>
<p>In 2016, 1 in 4 U.S. armed personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan <a href="https://taskandpurpose.com/heres-many-us-troops-private-contractors-sent-afghanistan">was a private contractor</a>. This means that the war is already being outsourced, yet scholars, the media and the general public know almost nothing about it. </p>
<p>Because contractors operate in the shadows, without effective public oversight, they allow policymakers to have their cake and eat it too – by appearing to withdraw, while keeping proxy forces in theater. Who are the contractors who actually execute American policy? Are they equipped to succeed in this important task? What risks is the U.S. asking them to take?</p>
<p>The simple truth is that there is little reliable data about this industry. Without this data, scholars cannot ask even the most basic questions of whether using contractors works better than the alternative, namely military personal or local forces – or, indeed, whether it works at all. </p>
<p>We are researchers who study the privatization of security and its implications. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X18811375">In our study</a>, published on Dec. 5 in Armed Forces &amp; Society, we shed light on some of the aspects of this largely invisible workforce for the first time.</p>
<h2>Gaps in the data</h2>
<p>It’s hard to get data about private military contractors, mainly because of the proprietary business secrets. Despite the fact that those companies act as proxies of the state, they are not legally obligated to share information with the public on their actions, organization or labor force. </p>
<p>Given how centrally private military companies feature in American foreign <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/09/11/privatizing-the-u-s-effort-in-afghanistan-seemed-a-bad-idea-now-its-even-worse/">policy debates lately</a>, Americans may assume that their policymakers are working from a detailed understanding of the contractor workforce. After all, the point is to weigh the contractors’ merits against uniformed service members, about whom the public have <a href="https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/dwp/data_reqs.jsp">excellent information</a>. </p>
<p>But this does not appear to be the case. There isn’t a detailed account of the private military industry’s practices, workforce, misconducts or contracts. Noticing this gap, in 2008, Congress instructed the Department of Defense <a href="https://www.congress.gov/110/plaws/publ181/PLAW-110publ181.pdf">to start collecting data</a> on private security personnel. </p>
<p>However, this data is limited, as <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R40764.pdf">security contractors</a> comprise just 10 to 20 percent of DOD contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq. The rest provide mission essential functions, such as engineering, communication and transportation and many others. Those roles take place in conflict areas and place those contractors at similar risk level as the soldiers. </p>
<p>Since it is impossible to say anything directly about the total population of American and British contractors who have served in Iraq, we sought out a sample for which records do exist – namely, those who died and whose deaths were recorded in obituaries. They are the corporate war dead. They are not a representative sample, since some occupations and some personalities are more likely to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/04/us/navy-seal-william-ryan-owens-dead-yemen.html">risk death</a> in combat than others, but in a setting without any reliable information they offer us a glimpse to this industry’s workforce.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262747/original/file-20190307-82669-i1ws8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262747/original/file-20190307-82669-i1ws8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262747/original/file-20190307-82669-i1ws8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262747/original/file-20190307-82669-i1ws8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262747/original/file-20190307-82669-i1ws8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262747/original/file-20190307-82669-i1ws8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=533&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262747/original/file-20190307-82669-i1ws8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=533&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262747/original/file-20190307-82669-i1ws8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=533&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Two U.S. private security contractors investigate the site where a military armored bus was damaged by a roadside bomb on the highway near Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad, Iraq in 2004.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/IRAQ-BLACKWATER/dd3f18835309424cbd07f2dcaa2414c8/5/0">AP Photo/Hadi Mizban</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Basic demographics</h2>
<p>We collected open source data from <a href="http://icasualties.org/">iCasualties</a>, a site that collects basic data on soldiers and contractors casualties. Using this data we gathered demographic information from obituaries and news articles, on 238 contractors who perished in Iraq between 2006 and 2016. </p>
<p>We learned that the contractors in our sample are predominantly white man in their 40s who choose contracting as a second career. Most are veterans with significant military experience. </p>
<p><iframe id="MCPVS" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/MCPVS/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Among those contractors who were previously deployed as service members, many are former officers and about half of them are Special Forces veterans. They are more likely to have a college degree than their active duty counterparts, but less likely than their fellow veterans in the general population.</p>
<p>They come from parts of the U.S. or United Kingdom with higher unemployment rates and fewer job opportunities – not the areas with the strongest traditions for military service. </p>
<h2>How contractors died</h2>
<p>What was it like to be a contractor in Iraq? From our sample of the corporate war dead, most of their deployments were short, between a week to a month. Many contractors treated it as a temporary job, taking a few tours. </p>
<p>Most of those in our sample worked in security, an especially dangerous job. Indeed, these contractors were more likely to be killed by enemy action than the American service members they worked alongside.</p>
<p><iframe id="sdzpz" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/sdzpz/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Of course, all of the members of our sample died. Contractors faced mortal peril in different places than service members. Many more of them died in Baghdad or on the roads than did at work or on a base. </p>
<p>This makes sense, considering that contractors that often lacked a protective umbrella of support from other units. If encountering unexpected threats, their support was less organized and effective. They were also routinely tasked with different types of missions: less combat work, and more logistics, maintenance or security type work. These types of missions – for example, driving the supply trucks to and from a base – are less protected and have routines that can be detected by insurgents.</p>
<h2>Enriching the debate</h2>
<p>To make informed decisions about whether and how to privatize future military commitments, the public needs at least a general understanding of the people tasked with projecting American force abroad.</p>
<p>The corporate war dead of future conflicts will almost certainly include Americans who previously served their country honorably in uniform. Their lives should be viewed as no more expendable as contractors than as soldiers, sailors, airmen or Marines. </p>
<p>Our contribution to the ongoing debate on contractors is important, but modest. Our sample represents less than a quarter of the private military contractors’ total population. The public still knows almost nothing about military contractors or the organizations they are affiliated with. </p>
<p>Contractors’ variation in experience, training and capabilities is broad and not well understood. Most contractors are not Westerners, but rather <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R40764.pdf">third country nationals</a>, recruits from Iraq and Afghanistan. Many others are veterans from other countries, such as Peru, Colombia, Fiji and Uganda. Some bring less institutional experience, as the industry recruits former <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/specialseries/2017/04/child-soldiers-reloaded-privatisation-war-170424204852514.html">child soldiers</a> from Sierra Leone and ex-guerrilla fighters from the FARC. </p>
<p>Some very big questions still lack any answer at all. Are contractors better or worse than service members in achieving a country’s political ends abroad? Is the U.S. using them effectively, making the most of what they do offer and mitigating those areas where they fall short? What are the unintended consequences of reliance on contractors in terms of human rights, legal complication, mismanagement and accountability?</p>
<p>Private military and security companies do not have real incentive to share these data, but the public interest is clear: The public needs it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113108/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new study looks at obituaries of private military contractors killed at war. The majority are white men with significant military experience.Ori Swed, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, Texas Tech UniversityThomas Crosbie, Assistant Professor of Military Operations and Military Studies, Royal Danish Defence CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1131652019-03-13T10:40:04Z2019-03-13T10:40:04ZTrump's executive order on drone strikes sends civilian casualty data back into the shadows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263390/original/file-20190312-86710-8qpzlz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An unmanned U.S. Predator drone flies over southern Afghanistan.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Drone-Policy/c9e5f4c6d1c74964859ac5f72b7ab517/1/0">AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When it comes to drones and warfare, the U.S. seems to have forgotten some valuable historical lessons. </p>
<p>On March 6, <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/06/trump-civilian-deaths-drone-strikes-1207409">President Trump signed an executive order</a> that revoked the requirement, formulated under the Obama administration, that U.S. intelligence officials must publicly report the number of civilians killed in CIA drone strikes outside declared war zones. </p>
<p>In this decision, Trump is bringing the U.S. back to where it once was: the state of non-transparency that defined Obama’s first term.</p>
<p>As a researcher who has <a href="https://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=5355">studied the ethics of war</a> and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/can-we-wage-a-just-drone-war/260055/">written extensively on drones</a>, I recognize that the U.S. has returned to a time when the CIA drone program was not governed by ethics, but shrouded in mystery, a time when it discounted the importance of civilian casualties.</p>
<h2>Remembering the past</h2>
<p>One of the U.S. founding fathers understood the importance of civilian casualties.</p>
<p>In 1782, Benjamin Franklin, then U.S. ambassador to France, circulated a copy of a Boston newspaper with an article that detailed British atrocities against American civilians in the ongoing Revolutionary War. Franklin intended to have the article reprinted by British newspapers, which would get the story out to the British public and turn popular opinion against the government in power. </p>
<p>The catch: The story was completely fabricated. Franklin made it up based on anecdotes he had heard, counting on the supposition that the British public had little access to actual statistics on civilian casualties to ascertain its truth. </p>
<p>Recounted with pride today on the <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/the-founding-fathers-of-american-intelligence/art-1.html">CIA’s website</a>, Franklin’s antics touched off a public uproar in 18th-century Britain. The article was used by opposition Whig politicians to challenge continued British participation in the war. </p>
<p>This quaint historical anecdote reveals valuable moral lessons for today. On the one hand, it shows how civilian casualties are a tool of propaganda. On the other, it shows the role that the suffering of enemy civilians plays in establishing an eventual peace. </p>
<h2>The Obama era</h2>
<p>During Obama’s first term, there were hundreds of strikes in the tribal regions of Pakistan that the U.S. did not publicly acknowledge, with <a href="https://www.law.columbia.edu/human-rights-institute/counterterrorism/drone-strikes/counting-drone-strike-deaths">wildly divergent reports</a> of civilian casualties.</p>
<p>During Obama’s tenure, there was <a href="https://www-cdn.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Stanford-NYU-Living-Under-Drones.pdf">warranted backlash from the international human rights community</a> and <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-111hhrg64921/pdf/CHRG-111hhrg64921.pdf">congressional hearings</a> at home. In the security realm, enemies of the U.S. such as al-Qaida and the Taliban used exaggerated reports of civilian deaths as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/18/obama-drone-war-isis-recruitment-tool-air-force-whistleblowers">propaganda</a> to recruit new members. </p>
<p>In discussions about how to end what some experts were calling the <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/49387/the-forever-war-by-dexter-filkins/9780307279446/">forever war,</a> <a href="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/world/2013/KOHSPEECH.pdf">a more disciplined and restrained use of drones</a> was seen as part of the solution. </p>
<p>This opposition led to Obama’s ethical turn, defending drones by way of the <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/23/remarks-president-national-defense-university">just war doctrine</a>. This centuries-old body of thought <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Just-War-Thinkers-From-Cicero-to-the-21st-Century-1st-Edition/Brunstetter-ODriscoll-Rosenthal/p/book/9781138122482">addresses the rights and wrongs of warfare: when a state can go to war and what it can do in war</a>. </p>
<p>When it came to drones, Obama was swayed by the principle of noncombatant immunity: the moral necessity of sparing civilians from the horrors of war whenever possible. He limited drone strikes to scenarios with near certainty that there would be no civilian casualties.</p>
<p>Obama also decided to provide greater transparency to the American public by reporting civilian casualties. This had a strategic purpose. According to one expert who served under Obama, former intelligence officer Ned Price, reporting allowed the U.S. to <a href="http://time.com/5546366/trump-cancels-drone-strike-rule/">“counter with facts and figures the misinformation and disinformation that terrorist groups and others issued to undermine our counter-terrorism operations around the globe.”</a> </p>
<h2>A step backward</h2>
<p>Obama’s ethical turn was a step forward. It emerged from <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/23/remarks-president-national-defense-university">his moral reckoning</a> with the act of killing and the tragedy of civilians getting caught in the crossfire. </p>
<p>The Trump administration’s reversal on reporting civilian casualties is a step backward. It says a lot about the value – or lack thereof – placed on the lives of those <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10402659.2015.1094319">living under drones</a>. Trump’s executive order insulates the U.S. public from the tragedy of civilian deaths. Removing civilian deaths from the public view dehumanizes them, and in the process, eliminates the common threads of humanity that make peace possible. </p>
<p>Without public accountability, I worry that the Trump administration is paving the way for a more robust use of drones. Perhaps it will be similar to or even more permissive than Obama’s policy during his first term, when the U.S. carried out <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/04/05/obamas-most-dangerous-drone-tactic-is-here-to-stay/">signature strikes,</a> which targeted unidentified militants based on their behavior patterns and personal networks rather than the threat they posed. Trump has already taken steps to remove <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/08/trump-war-terror-drones/567218/">targeting constraints</a> that had been codified under Obama. </p>
<p>Does discounting civilian casualties make the U.S. more secure in the long run? It’s an open question. The White House called the requirement <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-06/trump-cancels-u-s-report-on-civilian-deaths-in-drone-strikes">“superfluous” and claimed that it distracts “intelligence professionals from their primary mission,”</a> which is presumably protecting American security interests. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/03/06/us/politics/ap-us-trump-civilian-casualties.html">Despite the White House claims to the contrary</a>, research shows that such reporting is important for preventing civilian casualties. A lack of transparency leads to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15027570.2013.869390">the disproportionate use of drones</a>. Such a policy risks causing more civilian casualties, and has the potential to make more enemies than friends, diminish cooperation with allies in the global struggle against terrorist groups, and put the drone controversy back in the news in a negative way. </p>
<h2>Looking back and moving forward</h2>
<p>Franklin’s ruse demonstrates the power of using the tragedy of civilian casualties as propaganda. There is little doubt that U.S. enemies will use exaggerated reports of civilian casualties for propaganda purposes. Public transparency is a means to combat this propaganda, and perhaps more importantly, it provides a measure of checks and balance on the CIA. </p>
<p>More poignantly, Franklin abhorred the ease with which men kill and gloat about it. “Men,” <a href="http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-37-02-0277">he wrote later in 1782</a>, “I find to be a Sort of Being very badly constructed, as they are generally more easily provok’d than reconcil’d, more disposed to do Mischief to each other than to make Reparation … without a Blush they assemble in great armies at NoonDay to destroy, and when they have kill’d as many as they can, they exaggerate the Number to augment the fancied Glory.” </p>
<p>Amidst this exaggerated killing, Franklin saw a common connection shared between enemies: the suffering of civilians. This made, in his mind, peace between enemies a genuine possibility. </p>
<p>With Trump’s executive order, the American public risks being lulled into ignorance about the plight of civilians living under drones, and does so at the peril of perpetual war with future enemies of America’s own making.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113165/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel R. Brunstetter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Civilian casualty counts are a powerful tool for propaganda – and for establishing peace.Daniel R. Brunstetter, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of California, IrvineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1075382019-03-08T11:33:37Z2019-03-08T11:33:37ZTerrorism: a very brief history<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262862/original/file-20190308-150697-tu2waf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The word &#39;terrorism&#39; was first used at the time of the French Revolution.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism#/media/File:13Vend%C3%A9miaire.jpg">Charles Monnet/Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What is it that allows someone to be labelled as a terrorist? Recent acts of spectacular violence, such as the <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4607057/domestic-terrorism-pittsburgh-shooting-pipe-bombs/">mail bombs</a> sent to American anti-Trump critics, or the mass killings by Canadian “incel” misogynist <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-misogyny-was-a-factor-is-toronto-rampage-a-terrorist-act-against-women-95633">Alek Minassian</a>, demonstrate a widespread reluctance among media outlets, politicians and authorities to label some acts of ideologically motivated violence as “terrorism”. Such hesitations might give the faulty impression that “terrorism” is reserved purely for anti-Western or Islamist political violence. That is a wrong and dangerous conception.</p>
<p>There is no question that terrorism is neither an exclusively Islamist nor a new or recent phenomena. Terrorism has many and diverse ideological motivations and a long history. Indeed, it could even be claimed that modern terrorism is a product of Western modernity.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255196/original/file-20190123-135142-1bjxabe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255196/original/file-20190123-135142-1bjxabe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=353&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255196/original/file-20190123-135142-1bjxabe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=353&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255196/original/file-20190123-135142-1bjxabe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=353&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255196/original/file-20190123-135142-1bjxabe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=443&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255196/original/file-20190123-135142-1bjxabe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=443&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255196/original/file-20190123-135142-1bjxabe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=443&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Terror news.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-england-march-23-2017-newspaper-607155128?src=E0UiXlUhLnN_-3xQXIUPGg-1-1">Lenscap Photography/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most terrorism experts would probably agree that terrorism is an ideologically neutral tactic, used to achieve political change, and in play since prehistoric times. It is neutral, although not necessarily acceptable, in that it has been used by militants embracing most political ideologies – except for pacifism – and by authoritarian as well as liberal states such as Great Britain, France and the USA. </p>
<p>Although no universally accepted definition exists, there is agreement about its main elements. Terrorism is the threat or use of violence, it is politically or ideologically motivated and the violence is used to communicate a message of political change and intimidation to individuals or groups beyond its immediate victims. In short, terrorism is best understood as violence used as a form of political communication.</p>
<p>Although modern terrorism followed the emergence of modern mass politics and mass media, terrorist violence has probably been used as a political tactic since time immemorial. The Jewish Zealots and the Islamic Assassins – title-characters of the Assassin’s Creed video games – were ancient terrorists. They used violence to communicate messages of freedom from opposition and resistance to submission. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RjQ6ZtyXoA0?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>From states to individuals</h2>
<p>Terrorism’s modern meaning and use to label an intentional political tactic came with the French Revolution. During The Terror, Robespierre <a href="https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/robespierre-terror.asp">described it</a> as a virtuous form of violence, to be used by the new revolutionary democratic state against its domestic enemies.</p>
<p>Following this, the labels of terrorism and terrorists were used by 19th century newspapers to describe intimidation and violence by states against their subjects, such as “<a href="https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH18810917.2.70">the terrorism practiced by the police</a>” in Russia and the “<a href="https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WI18640324.2.12">oppressive system of military terrorism</a>” in Poland.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259303/original/file-20190215-56229-35pryy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259303/original/file-20190215-56229-35pryy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=799&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259303/original/file-20190215-56229-35pryy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=799&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259303/original/file-20190215-56229-35pryy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=799&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259303/original/file-20190215-56229-35pryy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1004&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259303/original/file-20190215-56229-35pryy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1004&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259303/original/file-20190215-56229-35pryy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1004&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vera Zasulich.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Modern terrorism, which implies the systematic use of violence against the state, rather than by it, emerged in Europe in the 1870s. The person <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/pipss/4169">generally recognised</a> as the first terrorist was the 26-year-old social revolutionary Vera Zasulich, who shot the Governor of St Petersburg in 1878 to protest the Russian state’s repression of domestic political protest.</p>
<p>In its agitation for a social revolution in Russia in line with the French Revolution, the Russian revolutionary movement until this point only used non-violent “propaganda by the word”. Zasulich’s shot broke the taboo against using violence to communicate political messages. Its worldwide publicity showed political activists and groups a new form of political protest, a spectacular and frightening “propaganda by the deed”.</p>
<p>Similar assassination attempts were first used against European governments and politicians, but by the early 1900s the new political tactic had spread to all the world’s inhabited continents, known in India as “the Russian method” and in China as “assassinationism”.</p>
<h2>Products of Western modernity</h2>
<p>The new violent political practice was soon institutionalised with the emergence of organised terrorist groups. First came <em>Narodnaya Volya</em> (<a href="https://www.marxists.org/glossary/orgs/p/e.htm#peoples-will">The People’s Will</a>), a group of Russian social revolutionaries and self-proclaimed terrorists, who in 1881 succeeded in assassinating Tsar Alexander II with a dynamite bomb. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259304/original/file-20190215-56220-1vfot62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259304/original/file-20190215-56220-1vfot62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=398&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259304/original/file-20190215-56220-1vfot62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=398&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259304/original/file-20190215-56220-1vfot62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=398&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259304/original/file-20190215-56220-1vfot62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=500&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259304/original/file-20190215-56220-1vfot62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=500&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259304/original/file-20190215-56220-1vfot62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=500&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The assassination of Alexander II of Russia, 1881.</span>
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</figure>
<p>The Russian terrorists’ struggle against the repressive Russian state was to some degree accepted and even admired by several Western observers. Mark Twain, for example, <a href="https://books.google.de/books?id=zW1k-XS6XLEC&amp;pg=PA335&amp;lpg=PA335&amp;dq=government+cannot+be+overthrown+otherwise+than+by+dynamite,+then+thank+God+for+dynamite!&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=9w1NdJSbpB&amp;sig=ACfU3U2_M_HHzXucTHicIC2kQUF0C8aKIw&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;redir_esc=y#v=onepage&amp;q=government%20cannot%20be%20overthrown%20otherwise%20than%20by%20dynamite%2C%20then%20thank%20God%20for%20dynamite!&amp;f=false">declared</a> that if the Russian “government cannot be overthrown otherwise than by dynamite, then thank God for dynamite!”</p>
<p>These first modern terrorists were like present day terrorists in that their actions were made possible through the use of industrial products of Western modernity. Spectacular violence was executed using commercial technologies such as industrially manufactured revolvers and Alfred Nobel’s science-based dynamite invention. Terrifying political messages were spread internationally through news articles transmitted by transatlantic telegraph cables and printed by commercial mass media companies on steam-powered printing presses.</p>
<p>Also, these first examples of people being labelled “terrorists” were almost exclusively reserved for acts of non-Western terrorism. When terrorist tactics were used against governments and civilians in Western Europe or the USA – by Fenians and anarchists or anti-colonial separatists in British India, for example – terrorism was generally not mentioned. Instead, such violence was more often described in terms of outrage or assassination.</p>
<p>This is despite the fact that these groups used the same terrorist tactics and technologies as the Russian terrorists. The new terminology was apparently reserved for the Russian revolutionary cause. It was only after World War I that these other forms of terrorism in and against Western governments started to more generally be labelled as terrorism. </p>
<p>This is the genuine starting point for the more widely recognised form of violent political communication that we today know and describe as terrorism.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107538/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mats Fridlund receives funding from the Riksbankens Jubileumsfond - The Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences and the Kone Foundation.</span></em></p>Terrorism hasn't always been associated with individuals – in the past, it has described violence used by the state against its subjects.Mats Fridlund, Visiting Scholar, Max Planck Institute for the History of ScienceLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1125702019-02-27T12:18:14Z2019-02-27T12:18:14ZKashmir: India and Pakistan's escalating conflict will benefit Narendra Modi ahead of elections<p>Tensions in the Kashmir region were already building after more than 40 Indian troops <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/15/indian-pm-modi-pakistan-pay-heavy-price-kashmir-bombing">were recently killed</a> by a suicide bomber. India’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/26/pakistan-india-jets-breached-ceasefire-line-kashmir-bomb">“pre-emptive strike” over the disputed border</a> on Tuesday – the first of its kind by India since it went to war with Pakistan in 1971 – has escalated the situation further. India said it had targeted a terrorist training camp and accused Pakistan of violating a 2003 ceasefire, while Pakistan <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/27/pakistan-india-jets-shot-down-airstrikes-kashmir">now claims</a> to have shot down two Indian fighter jets.</p>
<p>The origins of the Kashmir conflict lie in British imperial disengagement from the subcontinent. At independence in 1947, the unpopular Hindu Maharaja of Kashmir was faced with invasion by Pakistani tribesmen. He turned to India for help, signing the treaty of accession that took Kashmir into the Indian Union. India sent troops to Kashmir and so began the first war between India and Pakistan. </p>
<p>The Pakistanis were held off by Indian troops after they occupied one-third of Kashmir in 1948. Today, Pakistan continues to occupy that third and India holds the remaining two-thirds including the Kashmir Valley. The border between these two areas in Kashmir is demarcated by the Line of Control (LoC), established after fighting in 1947-48. This demarcation has changed little in all the conflicts of the subsequent years.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261226/original/file-20190227-150712-19rg33h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261226/original/file-20190227-150712-19rg33h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=690&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261226/original/file-20190227-150712-19rg33h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=690&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261226/original/file-20190227-150712-19rg33h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=690&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261226/original/file-20190227-150712-19rg33h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=867&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261226/original/file-20190227-150712-19rg33h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=867&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261226/original/file-20190227-150712-19rg33h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=867&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Disputed territory: green is Kashmiri region under Pakistani control; dark-brown is Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir; striped is Aksai Chin under Chinese control.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kashmir_map.jpg">CIA World Factbook/Wikipedia Commons</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Maharaja Hari Singh’s move to join India was supported by the popular secular Kashmiri political movement - the National Conference, led by Sheikh Abdullah. Particularly so, as India agreed a special status for Kashmir within the Indian Union – spelled out in Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. A further article in the constitution prohibits people from outside Kashmir from buying land and property in the state, allowing Kashmir to preserve the balance of its ethnic and religiously mixed population (60% Muslim, 35% Hindu and 5% Buddhist).</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261065/original/file-20190226-150705-1jkjd6g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261065/original/file-20190226-150705-1jkjd6g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=433&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261065/original/file-20190226-150705-1jkjd6g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=433&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261065/original/file-20190226-150705-1jkjd6g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=433&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261065/original/file-20190226-150705-1jkjd6g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=545&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261065/original/file-20190226-150705-1jkjd6g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=545&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261065/original/file-20190226-150705-1jkjd6g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=545&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ladakh: a mountainous region in the disputed north-west of Jammu and Kashmir in northern India.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/ethnic-woman-walking-on-mountain-road-704149468">Phuong D. Nguyen/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Pakistan has always maintained that, in accordance with the logic of partition, Kashmir should have been integrated with it. It attempted to take Kashmir by force in 1947-48 and again in 1965, with no success. The <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/south_asia/2002/india_pakistan/timeline/1999.stm">Kargil conflict in 1999</a> was the last substantial direct confrontation between the two militaries.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/india-and-pakistans-rivalry-isnt-territorial-or-ideological-its-psychological-91292">India and Pakistan's rivalry isn't territorial or ideological – it's psychological</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>Since then there have been regular terrorist attacks on mostly military, paramilitary or government targets in Kashmir – <a href="https://www.rediff.com/news/report/a-blood-soaked-timeline-of-terror-attacks-in-kashmir/20190214.htm">see the full list here</a>. Successive Indian governments have held the Pakistan military and their Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) responsible for training and aiding the terrorists involved, which Pakistan denies. </p>
<p>After this latest suicide attack, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-47249133">claimed by the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) terror group</a>, the debate now rests on whether the wider apparatus of the Pakistani state was aware of, and can be held responsible for, the actions of a terrorist group based in their country and <a href="http://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/95?highlight=Mujahideen+Army">with supposed links to the ISI</a>.</p>
<h2>Modi operandi</h2>
<p>The suicide attack that killed Indian paramilitary personnel takes on added significance because it occurred in the context of the looming general election in India in which the BJP, led by Narendra Modi, is trying to retain its grip on power. Modi and his BJP came to power <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Indian_general_election">with a thumping majority</a> in May 2014, promising competent, clean government and economic development. </p>
<p>However, things have not gone well for the government in recent months. The Indian economy is suffering from <a href="https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-very-real-impact-of-indias-demonetization">the long-term effects</a> of the decision to demonetise in 2016 and the inability to generate new jobs. The BJP was also defeated in five state elections in 2018, including <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/11/modi-bjp-election-defeats-hindi-heartland-rajasthan-chhattisgarh-madhya-pradesh">key states of the Hindi belt</a> such as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261196/original/file-20190227-150712-b6glil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261196/original/file-20190227-150712-b6glil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261196/original/file-20190227-150712-b6glil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261196/original/file-20190227-150712-b6glil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261196/original/file-20190227-150712-b6glil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261196/original/file-20190227-150712-b6glil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261196/original/file-20190227-150712-b6glil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">India’s Narendra Modi. Escalation of tensions with Pakistan could play into BJP plans ahead of Indian elections.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/india-july16-2018-prime-minister-narendra-1150277489">By Madhuram Paliwal/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>With Modi’s supposed record of economic competence and good governance under challenge, he has increasingly relied on his party’s version of extreme nationalism to keep people’s support. The BJP’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-are-the-origins-of-todays-hindu-nationalism-55092">Hindutva ideology</a> sees India as a Hindu country and believes all Indian Muslims should have been forced to move to Pakistan in 1947, and now constitute a fifth column in the country. So an attack such as the recent suicide bombing – whether or not it was actually instigated by Pakistan – plays into Modi’s narrative.</p>
<p>That the attack was carried out by a young man from Indian Kashmir also serves to illustrate the failure of the Modi government in dealing with the Kashmir problem. For more than three years the BJP was itself part of the government of Kashmir in alliance with the People’s Democratic Party of Mohammed and Mehbooba Mufti. This alliance <a href="https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/bjp-pdp-alliance-split-in-jammu-and-kashmir-the-inside-story-of-what-led-to-the-break-up-mehbooba-mufti-amit-shah-narendra-modi-bharatiya-janata-party/242766">fell apart in 2018</a>, mostly over disagreements between the two parties about how to handle the increase in violence in Kashmir and the radicalisation of young Kashmiris, who were once again taking up arms against India.</p>
<p>The Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group, unusually, took immediate responsibility for the attack. Equally, the Indian response to the attack was a first, in that India has never before responded to terrorism within its borders by attacking Pakistan. India’s airstrike is considered the first major use of air power against Pakistan since 1971. </p>
<p>At this stage there are claims and counter claims from both sides about what the Indian bombing raids achieved. Pakistan is threatening an appropriate response, so there is potential for an escalation of this volatile situation between two nuclear armed countries.</p>
<p>Amid an intensifying war of words and action between the two, the only beneficiary will be the BJP. As jingoistic fervour rises in India, they hope they will be swept back to office on the crest of that wave.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266588/original/file-20190329-71003-uc9saw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266588/original/file-20190329-71003-uc9saw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=140&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266588/original/file-20190329-71003-uc9saw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=140&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266588/original/file-20190329-71003-uc9saw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=140&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266588/original/file-20190329-71003-uc9saw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=176&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266588/original/file-20190329-71003-uc9saw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=176&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266588/original/file-20190329-71003-uc9saw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=176&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://confirmsubscription.com/h/r/23816052A5FFA0842540EF23F30FEDED">Subscribe to our Anthill podcast newsletter to hear about new episodes as soon as they drop.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112570/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sita Bali does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>India and Pakistan enter into a volatile situation after weeks of increasing tension.Sita Bali, Head of department, Staffordshire UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1110122019-02-05T14:44:07Z2019-02-05T14:44:07ZBrexit: what the army could legally do to maintain public order if needed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257029/original/file-20190204-193220-1k5nsos.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/members-british-armed-forces-uniform-marching-539936878?src=OJsuAkaAbW538LuUL1t3yA-1-0">lenny1/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The prospect of a no-deal Brexit has led to some dystopian predictions about what might happen if the UK leaves the EU without a transition plan in place on March 29. Councils in Kent warned of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/dec/07/kent-council-leader-says-no-deal-brexit-would-cause-chaos-dover">impending gridlock</a> on the roads and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jan/28/no-deal-brexit-price-rises-retailers-sainsburys-asda-ms-coop">supermarkets of a disruption to food supplies</a> of and possible price rises. <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/no-deal-brexit-military-police-leaked-document-a8529401.html">Several</a> newspapers with <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/12/18/brexit-latest-news-theresa-may-step-no-deal-plans-cabinet-meeting/">differing</a> <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6402523/Armys-secret-plans-troops-streets-wake-No-Deal-Brexit.html">stances</a> on Brexit reported on the potential for military deployment to help maintain public order. </p>
<p>Whether this is rooted in genuine concern or political alarmism, it’s true that the military can legally be called in to help in certain circumstances. And at times of crisis, it’s common for some to call for military deployment. It happened <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/263973/UK-riots-92-per-cent-say-bring-in-the-Army">during the English riots</a> in 2011, and has been a regular feature during prison riots <a href="https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/revealed-ministers-considered-military-action-686811">ever since</a> the 25-day riots at Strangeways prison in 1990. In the worst prison riots in Scotland in 1987, special forces unit <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-41397881">the SAS were eventually sent in</a>. </p>
<p>Contingency plans where the military will step into the role of law enforcement – either in the guise of police or prison officers – happens more regularly than some people seem to think. It’s often part of standard preparations for a worst-case scenario. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/no-deal-brexit-preparing-for-nuclear-fallout-influenced-how-government-plans-for-worst-case-scenarios-108626">No-deal Brexit: preparing for nuclear fallout influenced how government plans for worst-case scenarios</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>First, call for more police</h2>
<p>In an ideal world, contingency plans provide the police with a set of clear instructions that provide a multi-agency response to events such as man-made disasters, infrastructure failure, terrorism and riots. But since 2010, successive Conservative governments have pursued a policy of austerity within the public sector which removed <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/725767/police-funding-england-and-wales-2015-to-2019-hosb1318.pdf">more than 30%</a> from policing budgets, leading to <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN00634/SN00634.pdf">drastic reductions</a> in the number of police officers across England and Wales. This will limit what plans police forces can put in place to manage any public disorder. </p>
<p>The main way to manage shortages in policing is via the use of what is <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article-abstract/27/1/37/458530?redirectedFrom=fulltext">termed “mutual aid”</a>, where one force can request public order support from another force anywhere across England and Wales. Such mutual aid <a href="https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/Abstract.aspx?id=88611">can be requested</a> either in advance, which is often done for the policing of large-scale public events such as football matches, or at short notice during an emergency. The officers are then seconded to the force that has requested their presence and can exercise all of the powers of a constable of that force without jurisdictional issues arising. </p>
<p>Such borrowing of officers is based on the assumption that public order incidents are localised and only need a minor increase in manpower to be contained. It’s conceivable that should no-deal Brexit lead to large-scale disruption to food supplies and essential services then public order incidents could happen in numerous locations. With police office numbers already stretched to breaking point, the required manpower would inevitably have to come from elsewhere. This is where the military could step in.</p>
<h2>Legal grey area</h2>
<p>The government policy that regulates military help is called Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA), governed in law by the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/36/contents">Civil Contingencies Act 2004</a>. MACA is broken down into three broad areas, each of which has its own specific governing principles and legislation. The one that would have most relevance in the case of Brexit is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010-to-2015-government-policy-armed-forces-support-for-activities-in-the-uk/2010-to-2015-government-policy-armed-forces-support-for-activities-in-the-uk">“military aid to the civil power”</a>, which provides armed, emergency support to the state to help maintain law, order and public safety.</p>
<p>The law gives the government the legal right to ask the military to provide aid to civil authorities should the need arise. This aid can take the form of niche capabilities – such as when army <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2346157.stm">Green Goddess fire engines</a> were called in during strikes by firefighters in 2002 – or manpower, which can be armed or unarmed. The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/19/gatwick-flights-halted-after-drone-sighting">military were quickly co-opted</a>, under this law, for their specialist capacities when Gatwick Airport was closed in late December 2018 by reports of drone sightings. </p>
<p>Troops were also deployed under this act in the aftermath of the Manchester Arena attack in 2017 to guard several <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/24/1000-troops-streets-manchester-bombing-attack/">high profile sites across the country</a>. In that case, the deployment of uniformed, armed soldiers seemed, on the surface, to be a proportionate response to the threat of further terrorist incidents. But this sort of deployment is not the niche capability that the MACA framework is designed for and could leave soldiers in a legal grey zone. </p>
<p>Unlike the police, soldiers are trained to fight in conflict situations where lethal force is necessary. In contrast, the police routinely also use force, but to maintain order and protect life and property. </p>
<p>If the army was used to maintain public order, it could lead to them controlling crowds and potentially making arrests. The MACA policy framework allows for the military to be used in a civil response role – but is less clear about its use in a role that requires less than lethal force. That sort of policing of public disorder is properly and rightfully the responsibility of the police. </p>
<p>The last time the British army attempted such a public order role was during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Incidents such as <a href="https://www.irishpost.com/news/seven-things-you-need-to-know-about-bloody-sunday-79354">Bloody Sunday</a> – where 14 people died after British paratroopers fired on a march in Derry – stand as proof that the militarisation of public order policing is fraught with risks. Policing starkly divided emotions, frustrations and opinions on Brexit is a difficult task, but one principally for the police.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111012/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Dystopian predictions of a no-deal Brexit have led to reports that the military could be used to maintain public order.James Treadwell, Professor In Criminology, Staffordshire UniversityJohn Lamb, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Security Studies, Birmingham City UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1048552018-12-24T18:37:49Z2018-12-24T18:37:49ZThe Army has a public perception problem. Here's how it can regain trust with society<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247637/original/file-20181128-32208-jxunaj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In recent years, the purpose of the Army has diverged from the priorities of broader Australian society.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dan Peled/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Do something for yourself, join the Army Reserve.”</p>
<p>This was one of the Army’s most iconic campaigns, broadcast on Australian television throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVOdAPWxvz4">advertisements</a> were set to Tchaikovsky’s rousing battle hymn, the 1812 Overture, and portrayed an Army that was as comfortable displaying its militarism as it was exhorting the perks of enlistment. </p>
<p>But as every child of that era knows, the ads were particularly memorable because of the irreverent lyrics they inspired. In households across Australia, a chorus of children’s voices entered the refrain “join the Army get your head blown off” into the annals of Australian history.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Do something for yourself’ Army campaign.</span></figcaption>
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<p>For a long time, the identity of the Army was inextricably connected to the <a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/anzac-voices/landing">landing at Gallipoli</a> in 1915 and the sacred legends of the first world war. The institution stood for such <a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1069871/">ANZAC values</a> as: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>reckless valo[u]r in a good cause … enterprise, resourcefulness, fidelity, comradeship, and endurance that will never own defeat </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This lore nourished the public’s broad-based support for the institution. </p>
<h2>What Australians think of the Army today</h2>
<p>But as the spectre of war has faded in recent years, the purpose of the Army has diverged from the priorities of broader Australian society. A tension between the two has become more apparent: civil society now has the expectation of peace, whereas the military is still preparing for possible war.</p>
<p>In truth, the process of dislocation was well underway when the “Do something for yourself” campaign was launched. Overall support for the armed forces was in decline, and a review conducted prior to the release of the 1987 Defence White Paper indicated the Army “<a href="http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p68061/mobile/ch01s02.html">was having difficulties adjusting to the post-Vietnam War era</a>”. </p>
<p>As Australia’s strategic circumstances became more stable in the 1990s, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09592319108423002">the public shifted its focus</a> to domestic priorities. National defence and security matters became detached from public discourse.</p>
<p>Today, the public’s connection with the Army is largely exercised through abstract or ceremonial means. ANZAC Day continues to capture the public’s imagination, as is demonstrated by the growing attendance at <a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/media/press-releases/anzac-day-2018">dawn services</a>. This, however, has not translated into greater appreciation for the tasks and objectives of the institution. Australian society lacks an anchor by which to make sense of its own modern Army.</p>
<p>Under these circumstances, <a href="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/ad-aspi/import/ASPI_attitude_matters.pdf?mXbJerEKbfYVaQW8Mqw8N5sNFKAgOCKV">public attitudes</a> towards the Army are influenced by ideology and politics, individual experience and contemporary values. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247639/original/file-20181128-32185-1rzug9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247639/original/file-20181128-32185-1rzug9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247639/original/file-20181128-32185-1rzug9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247639/original/file-20181128-32185-1rzug9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247639/original/file-20181128-32185-1rzug9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247639/original/file-20181128-32185-1rzug9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247639/original/file-20181128-32185-1rzug9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Army is struggling to rebrand itself and attract new recruits.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Francois Nascimbeni/EPA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To be sure, the Army is still praised for its courage and integrity, its aptitude to “<a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=rRKqAAAAQBAJ&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=anzacs+dirty+dozen&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj2kMOxmYreAhWEA4gKHb3DCZMQ6AEIJzAA#v=onepage&amp;q=anzacs%20dirty%20dozen&amp;f=false">punch above its weight,</a>” and its readiness to fight hostile nations and protect vulnerable people in the region.</p>
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<p>Extensive public consultations with everyday Australians prior to the release of the 2016 Defence White Paper showed that people viewed the armed services with a <a href="http://www.defence.gov.au/Whitepaper/docs/GuardingUncertainty.pdf">high degree of respect</a> and took “pride in the professionalism, operational record and achievements” of military personnel.</p>
<p>Yet, the Army is also criticised for its adherence to outmoded traditions. As the <a href="https://www.news.com.au/news/australian-defence-force-scandals/news-story/2f963221eee6f430f23f5043469cc562">media has exposed</a> numerous scandals involving sexual harassment, bullying, hazing and allegations of rape in recent years, the Army has been chastised for allowing a toxic internal culture to develop. </p>
<p>In addition, the Army has increasingly been accused of involvement in “<a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=rRKqAAAAQBAJ&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=anzacs+dirty+dozen&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj2kMOxmYreAhWEA4gKHb3DCZMQ6AEIJzAA#v=onepage&amp;q=anzacs%20dirty%20dozen&amp;f=false">other people’s wars</a>”, a reproach frequently heard during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. According to some <a href="http://honesthistory.net.au/wp/reynolds-henry-unnecessary-wars/">historians</a>, Australia’s participation in “unnecessary wars” is a distinguishing feature of the nation’s history.</p>
<h2>Why this divide is problematic</h2>
<p>Such conflicted characterisations are, in part, a product of the public’s <a href="http://www.defence.gov.au/Whitepaper/docs/GuardingUncertainty.pdf">segregation from military life</a>. Unless one lives in Canberra or Townsville, where the Army is an ordinary and established part of daily existence, the military is seen as someone else’s remit. </p>
<p>This separation has been exacerbated by the Army itself. While the military shares the same core democratic values as civilians, it largely accepts the traditional <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/The_Soldier_and_the_State.html?id=1PqFe0rsfdcC&amp;redir_esc=y">ideological divide</a> between its conservative leadership and liberal, individualistic civil society. </p>
<p>The Army remains <a href="https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=247064382518339;res=IELAPA">a closed, insular system,</a> committed first and foremost to producing first-class soldiers. The belief is the Army <em>should</em> operate in a separate domain so it can remain effective and apolitical. But as the inner workings of our liberal democracy become more convoluted, the disconnect is proving obstructive. For both sectors. </p>
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<p>The public sees an institution inclined to living in its own myth, and more concerned with integrating with the wider Australian defence force and other allied armies than interacting with Australian society. </p>
<p>The Army sees a society that does not understand what it does, or what it needs. It believes there is general support for its role in counter-terrorism actions, border protection, peacekeeping and restoring order after natural disasters, but limited appreciation of its operational realities, resourcing and equipment challenges, or other activities that are absent from the public discourse.</p>
<h2>Solutions for re-engaging with society</h2>
<p>So, how might this disconnect between the Army and society be ameliorated?</p>
<p>In an effort to keep pace with societal expectations, <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/australian-military-embraces-diversity-in-new-ad-campaign">modern recruitment campaigns</a> highlight a military that reflects the community it seeks to protect and the importance of a diverse and multicultural workforce with a broad skill base. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8PktiMLyiN0?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A Navy recruitment add emphasising the service’s multicultural make-up.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Likewise, the military leadership’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaqpoeVgr8U&amp;feature=youtu.be">strong condemnation</a> of misconduct among some personnel suggests that the institution is committed to improving its image and being more in line with the nation’s norms and standards.</p>
<p>An approach embraced by other liberal democracies, including the UK, US and Canada is to work within the myth-making paradigm to construct a <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/03/how-to-build-a-strategic-narrative">strategic narrative</a> that emphasises the Army’s value to society. Although such a narrative is only likely to resonate with those who already have a vested interest in the Army, it may well produce greater general awareness of its roles and missions.</p>
<p>These methods ignore the key strength of the Army, however. The service is in the business of direct engagement. Even as scandal, exclusivity and a sense of disconnection have undermined its reputation in recent years, the public continues to admire the institution’s readiness to put boots on the ground. </p>
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<p>Perhaps the answer, then, lies in an intensification of direct associations with society. A more visible presence in communities, an expansion of the reserves and more engagement in activities that foster shared experience could ease the degree of separation between the sectors, and rekindle mutual trust.</p>
<p>That <a href="http://www.defence.gov.au/ADC/Publications/Shedden/2012/AGNEW%20CM%20Relations%202.pdf">trust needs to be present</a>. The Army is reliant on society for its very existence. Indeed, if the Army becomes segregated from its future ranks, and from the society it is entrusted to protect, it has lost its <em>raison d'être</em>. </p>
<p>The bond between the Army and society should be carefully nurtured and protected as a vital element of national security.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104855/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marigold Black is a Research Fellow with the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University who is assigned to work on contract with the Australian Army Research Centre.</span></em></p>There is a troubling disconnect between a once-iconic institution and broader society.Marigold Black, AARC Research Fellow, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1065932018-11-08T22:25:58Z2018-11-08T22:25:58ZAn infinity of waste -- the brutal reality of the First World War<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244614/original/file-20181108-74757-15ijmc3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A scholar takes a pilgrimage of the Western Front to try to comprehend the loss of lives of the First World War. Here British soldiers in a battlefield trench, c. 1915-1918.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the armistice signing on <a href="https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/11/nov-11-1918-world-war-i-ends/">Nov. 11, 1918</a>, it was all over: one of the greatest conflagrations the world had seen, the butcher’s bill, in the end, totalling <a href="https://www.facinghistory.org/weimar-republic-fragility-democracy/politics/casualties-world-war-i-country-politics-world-war-i">6,000 soldiers per day</a> for four of the longest years ever experienced. A century on, over the past four summers, I undertook a pilgrimage walk along the complete length of the Western Front from the Swiss border to the English Channel, to bear witness to this inconceivable loss. It was a distance of more than nine hundred kilometres, with side trips ranging over the major killing fields and eastward to the location of the first and the last battles at Mons.</p>
<p>Throughout, I was conscious, often to the brink of heart-rendered grief, of the overwhelming death count. Traversing the landscape slowly on foot rather than by motorized travel enables one to develop a private and profound intimacy with both the terrain and what it reveals, as well as the way in which memory is invoked. </p>
<h2>Heaps of bones</h2>
<p>The first year’s walk ended in Verdun, a place which set the template in terms of pointless wastage for that which was to come. Here, the Germans hurled everything they had, and the <a href="https://www.theworldwar.org/explore/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/they-shall-not-pass">French adopted their “They Shall Not Pass”</a> motto, the result being more than 700,000 dead on both sides. The remains of many these victims are visible today as vast heaps of bones glimpsed through the observation windows at the massive ossuary there.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244597/original/file-20181108-74766-1bohxwb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244597/original/file-20181108-74766-1bohxwb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=383&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244597/original/file-20181108-74766-1bohxwb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=383&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244597/original/file-20181108-74766-1bohxwb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=383&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244597/original/file-20181108-74766-1bohxwb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=482&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244597/original/file-20181108-74766-1bohxwb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=482&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244597/original/file-20181108-74766-1bohxwb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=482&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Menin Gate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Canada War Museum</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When standing in front of the <a href="https://www.cwgc.org/find/find-cemeteries-and-memorials/80800/thiepval-memorial">Thiepval Memorial</a> or <a href="https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/objects-and-photos/archival-documents/personal-documents/menin-gate/">the Menin Gate</a>, many find it hard to wrap their heads around the tens of thousands of names inscribed of those who are “missing,” having no known graves. It may be easier to comprehend this immensity when one can witness a sign of the individuality of loss. This happened to me when crossing a field at the Somme, and coming upon a human jaw bone emerging from the recently plowed spring soil. </p>
<p>There was nothing to do. Out of respect, I took no photo. I unshouldered my backpack and dropped to the ground and shared some moments with the individual before I gently pushed his bones back into the receiving embrace of the earth.</p>
<h2>“Sacrificed to the fallacy that war can end war.”</h2>
<p>As impressive as the major national memorials are – nowhere more so perhaps than the giant <a href="http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/first-world-war/road-to-vimy-ridge/vimy7">twin-pronged tuning fork of that of Canadians at Vimy Ridge</a> – it is the small, makeshift and private ones, occurring along lonely rural roads, that most resonate the feeling of loss. As fine as is the justifiably famous<a href="http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/belgium-belgique/bilateral_relations_bilaterales/route1915-17.aspx?lang=eng"> “Brooding Solider” memorial to Canadians exposed to the first use of poison gas at St. Julien</a>, I was affected more by a small, private memorial nearby. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244599/original/file-20181108-74775-5m2bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244599/original/file-20181108-74775-5m2bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=473&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244599/original/file-20181108-74775-5m2bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=473&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244599/original/file-20181108-74775-5m2bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=473&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244599/original/file-20181108-74775-5m2bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=595&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244599/original/file-20181108-74775-5m2bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=595&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244599/original/file-20181108-74775-5m2bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=595&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canadian tank with soldiers advancing with Infantry at Vimy, April 1917.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canadian_tank_and_soldiers_Vimy_1917.jpg">Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There, a British family had included a photograph of their relative killed, along with a description of what had transpired. He had lain severely injured in the field immediately in front of where I was standing for a remarkable six days before being recovered and evacuated to a hospital behind the lines, where he soon expired. Lying there unmoving, all alone, among his dead companions for that period, with no water and no doubt in constant pain is unbearable to contemplate. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244602/original/file-20181108-74778-l7zw9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244602/original/file-20181108-74778-l7zw9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244602/original/file-20181108-74778-l7zw9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244602/original/file-20181108-74778-l7zw9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244602/original/file-20181108-74778-l7zw9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244602/original/file-20181108-74778-l7zw9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244602/original/file-20181108-74778-l7zw9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244602/original/file-20181108-74778-l7zw9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Private memorials along a small country road to several British soldiers killed in the field immediately behind, one of whom lay there struggling for life for six days.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Robert France</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Of all the tens of thousands of graves seen, it is worth explicitly mentioning those of three individuals. </p>
<p>The last cemetery I visited lay outside of Mons, in Belgium. Here, separated by a distance of about 30 metres, lie the graves of <a href="https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/lifestory/3403342">John Parr, the first British Commonwealth soldier killed on Aug. 21, 1914</a>, and of <a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/war-museums-victory-1918-exhibit-commemorates-final-days-of-first-world-war">Canadian George Price, the last, killed at 10:58 am on Nov. 11, 1918</a>, tragically just two minutes before hostilities ceased. </p>
<p>They are separated in time by the deaths of 953,000 of their compatriots. A gruesome math exercise reveals the true magnitude of that horrific statistic: if you stacked up all those bodies between the two gravesites, the wall of corpses would tower almost 32 kilometres high. It is unfathomable. </p>
<p>That is only the toll for the British Commonwealth; both France and Germany lost more men. And then there are those from all the other nations. </p>
<p>One grave, above all others, stands out in sharp contrast. Its inscription is remarkably different from the oft-quoted “for King and Country” slogan. It is located near Ypres and is for Arthur Young. Written by his father — tellingly a diplomat — it is a bitter indictment to the purposeless waste of a generation, and reads: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Sacrificed to the fallacy that war can end war.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is no better testament to sum up the whole enterprise. And there is, of course, nothing that is ultimately more depressing. </p>
<h2>The war did not end all wars</h2>
<p>The absolute saddest thing I observed during my entire pilgrimage was the series of red and white banners hung at the exit from <a href="http://www.toerisme-ieper.be/en/page/334-337-338/other-great-war-museums-.html">the war museum in Ypres</a>. On them are listed, one after another, all the wars that have transpired in the years since ‘The War to End All Wars’ finished in 1918. Each name leaps out as a stark and shameful reminder of our collective failure. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244603/original/file-20181108-74787-tgrj7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244603/original/file-20181108-74787-tgrj7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244603/original/file-20181108-74787-tgrj7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244603/original/file-20181108-74787-tgrj7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244603/original/file-20181108-74787-tgrj7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244603/original/file-20181108-74787-tgrj7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=565&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244603/original/file-20181108-74787-tgrj7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=565&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244603/original/file-20181108-74787-tgrj7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=565&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">List of global armed conflicts occurring since the end of the ‘war to end all wars’ in 1918, with space left at the end to add more names.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Robert France</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I counted 101 armed conflicts throughout my six decades of life; and to my embarrassment, there were names on that banner of armed conflicts about which I had never head. Worst of all, however, was that the last panel contained space…waiting to be written on in the future. </p>
<p>Remembrance is essential, but it is not enough. More than a tenth of a million people have lost their lives due to armed conflict in 2018. </p>
<p>When we remember the end of the Great War on this Nov. 11 and subsequent remembrance days and think of Ypres, we must reflect upon Yemen; when we mourn the dead at the Somme, we must rue the deceased in Syria. And somehow we need to shift from contemplation to action. </p>
<p>While the rise of right-wing populism in the West is meritoriously troubling, in the end, both America and most of the rest of us will survive another two or six years of U.S. President Donald Trump. Most, but not all. For the same cannot be said for the hundreds of thousands whom will die in wars distant from North America and Europe <a href="https://newint.org/features/2012/09/01/media-war-coverage">which receive correspondingly little or even no media coverage</a> over that same time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106593/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert France does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From the Swiss border to the English channel, a scholar describes his pilgrimage of the Western Front as a tribute to fallen soldiers and to learn more about the devastating loss of life.Robert France, Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Landscape Studies, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1012362018-08-30T21:53:07Z2018-08-30T21:53:07ZWhy Canadians pay little attention to their military<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232192/original/file-20180815-2921-1gbq68k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Members of the Canadian Forces march during a Remembrance Day ceremony in Vancouver, B.C., on Nov. 11, 2017. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Canadians <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/dnd-canadians-military-poll-1.4754083">are in a sleepy state when it comes to their military</a> according to a column earlier this summer by the CBC’s Murray Brewster, who reported on the results of a poll by the Earnscliffe Strategy Group.</p>
<p>The poll found that awareness of, and familiarity with, the Canadian Armed Forces was generally very low, and virtually non-existent among younger Canadians.</p>
<p>None of this should come as a surprise to those who study Canadian military history and civil-military relations in Canada.</p>
<p>About the only foreign war Canada has fought in the past 120 years that did not create significant political tensions for a Canadian government <a href="http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/korean-war">was the Korean War.</a> </p>
<p>Every other conflict raised serious questions about Canadian unity, Canadians’ level of comfort with their nation at war and serious social and political issues about the way Canadian governments have run the wars they have led their country into.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.museedelaguerre.ca/cwm/exhibitions/boer/boerwarhistory_e.shtml">The South African War of 1899-1902</a>, also known as the Boer War, badly divided the country along linguistic lines.</p>
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À lire aussi :
<a href="http://theconversation.com/the-dreadful-history-of-children-in-concentration-camps-98549">The dreadful history of children in concentration camps</a>
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<p>Canada was not yet a constitutionally independent country. It was in the process of searching for ways to reconcile the strong imperial feelings of many Canadians who saw their identity as directly linked to the growing power of the British Empire, and those who wished to strike out on their own to find a path to equality within the empire. Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier was among those hoping for a more autonomous path, if not eventual independence.</p>
<p>Yet suddenly Canada was dragged into a war a half a world away and became a nation willing to shed blood to serve her imperial master.</p>
<h2>Initial Quebec support</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/">First World War</a> seemed at first to unite Canadians, especially when Laurier, now leader of the opposition, pledged to support the war against imperial Germany. Even French-Canadian nationalist leader <a href="https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/people/canadian-leaders/henri-bourassa/">Henri Bourassa</a> was initially willing to endorse Canadian participation. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232191/original/file-20180815-2900-3vvxs0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232191/original/file-20180815-2900-3vvxs0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=439&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232191/original/file-20180815-2900-3vvxs0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=439&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232191/original/file-20180815-2900-3vvxs0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=439&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232191/original/file-20180815-2900-3vvxs0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232191/original/file-20180815-2900-3vvxs0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232191/original/file-20180815-2900-3vvxs0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Donald James, a merchant navy veteran, attends a commemorative event on the centennial of the Last Hundred Days of the Great War in Halifax on Aug. 8, 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But in reality, this was a war that pitted committed British Canadian nationalists against Canadians who saw nothing but another imperial adventure sucking in Canadian blood and treasure. <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/feature/the-legacy-of-canadas-wwi-conscription-crisis-quebec-nationalism">The 1917 Conscription Crisis</a> left at least a 50-year mark on Canadian politics and damaged relations between Anglophones and Francophones.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/second-world-war-wwii/">During the Second World War,</a> the government of William Lyon Mackenzie King tried much harder than the government of Robert Borden in the First World War to demonstrate that this was “Canada’s War.” The government argued that Canadian interests were at stake and a united Canada was fighting as an ally to Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States against the Axis of evil. </p>
<p>But even so, there was bitter opposition to conscription, and a decidedly uneven distribution of volunteers for the Canadian Army overseas.</p>
<h2>Korean war largely ignored</h2>
<p>Canadian involvement in the Korean War saw universal support in French Catholic, anti-Communist Quebec, and in anti-Communist English-speaking Canada, but after the first year or so, the conflict became a truly small war with clashes in no man’s land and fights for random hills or defensive lines that took on American names — the Kansas Line, the Wyoming Line, the Jamestown Line. Back home, Canadians seemed to have forgotten that their army was still fighting in far-off Korea.</p>
<p>After Korea, Canadians didn’t actually go to war again until the <a href="http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/canadian-armed-forces/persian-gulf">first Gulf War,</a> and we only sent aircraft that took almost no combative action and medical units with some infantry to guard them. </p>
<p>Few Canadians seemed to realize we were at war. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232193/original/file-20180816-2921-3vajx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232193/original/file-20180816-2921-3vajx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=699&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232193/original/file-20180816-2921-3vajx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=699&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232193/original/file-20180816-2921-3vajx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=699&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232193/original/file-20180816-2921-3vajx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=879&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232193/original/file-20180816-2921-3vajx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=879&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232193/original/file-20180816-2921-3vajx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=879&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Canadian Forces LAV passes by a group of Afghans and their donkey in the Arghandab district just north of Kandahar city on Sunday, June 14, 2009. The Canadians were providing support to an Afghan National Police sweep of the area.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We never went to Vietnam as the Australians did, and we did not take part in President George W. Bush’s <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/03/19/canada-iraq-war_n_2902305.html">war against Saddam Hussein in Iraq</a>. </p>
<p>When we went <a href="http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/canadian-armed-forces/afghanistan">to war in Afghanistan</a>, Canadians were initially enthusiastic after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, but the longer we stayed without any indication of where the war was going, the more support for the war fell. </p>
<p>What is the main lesson the current government has learned from this history? </p>
<p>Hide the military as much as possible. That way there’s fewer political problems and national unity issues, no fierce debates about national apathy, no assertions of where Canadian interests lie or ought to lie. Instead, fall back on age-old slogans about protecting Canada and protecting North America, and helping out allies when called upon to do so — sometimes.</p>
<p>Fund just enough military to protect our sovereign borders, which are largely not threatened by anyone. That way we haven’t solved any military problems, but we have debated them away, which is just as good for most Canadians. And in the next election, there will be no military matters to worry about.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101236/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David J. Bercuson ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d&#39;une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n&#39;a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son poste universitaire.</span></em></p>Canadians' indifference to their military isn't so surprising. Almost every military conflict has raised serious questions, and spurred divisive debate, about Canadian unity and independence.David J. Bercuson, Program Director, Canadian Global Affairs Institute and Director of the Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1014732018-08-14T23:01:29Z2018-08-14T23:01:29ZWhy war evolved to be a man's game – and why that's only now changing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231887/original/file-20180814-2906-sxnxu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/us-soldiers-giving-salute-716351914?src=9U2Ns5Na0uerisvkm8YKKQ-1-2">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>One pattern characterises every war that’s ever been fought. Frontline fighting in warfare is primarily and often almost exclusively a male activity. From a numbers perspective, bigger armies obviously have greater chances of success in battles. Why then, are half of a community’s potential warriors (the women) usually absent from the battlefield?</p>
<p>Previous hypotheses have suggested that this is the result of fundamental biological differences between the sexes. But our new study, published in <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/lookup/doi/10.1098/rspb.2018.0975">Proceedings B</a>, finds that none of these differences fully explain why women have almost never gone to war, and nor are they needed to do so. Instead, this state of affairs might have more to do with chance.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01402390008437810">Some researchers</a> have proposed that since men are on average stronger, taller, and faster than women, they are simply more effective in winning battles. <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/titles/10359.html">Others</a> have suggested that this pattern occurs because the costs of warfare are lower for men, as the risks of dying or being injured are offset by the opportunity to obtain more sexual partners in case of victory. This isn’t true for women because they can only produce a limited number of offspring and so there’s little or no evolutionary advantage to obtaining more partners.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2743814?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">Others still</a> have argued the answer can be found in the fact that females in groups of ancestral great apes and humans were more likely to migrate. This supposedly means that women are less genetically related to their social group than men, and so are less keen to risk their lives for their communities.</p>
<p>Granted, these hypotheses all suggest plausible reasons why more men than women participate in wars. But they fall short on explaining why the fighting is almost always done by men. We set out to answer this question, developing a mathematical model of the evolution of male and female participation in warfare, building on some of <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/284/1849/20162699.long">our previous work</a> in this area. Our model looks at the consequences of going to war on a person’s fitness, and for the fitness of their genetic relatives, to work out the probability that a person will join in the fighting.</p>
<h2>Modelling the evolution of warfare</h2>
<p>Before investigating each of the proposed explanations in detail, we decided we should better understand the simplest case where there are no sex differences. We designed a model that looked at men and women as two identical groups, and didn’t take account of the sexes’ different characteristics when working out the probability of an individual joining in a war. To our surprise, we found that exclusively male warfare could still evolve in this case.</p>
<p>Instead, our model showed that what was important was how many members of a person’s sex were already taking part in warfare at any given point, and how that affected sexual competition for mates with other people of the same sex. For example, if lots of men are already fighting, then the risks to an individual man would be lower and the potential rewards higher, but the there would be much less incentive for a woman to take part.</p>
<p>This evolutionary pressure means that, if there was then even a small reason why men might be more likely to fight, over many generations the incentives for men to join in would grow until warfare became an almost exclusively male practice.</p>
<p>But as our hypothetical model worked on the basis that men and women were identical, for every potential evolutionary trajectory that led to exclusively male warfare, there would be another that led to exclusively female warfare. Whether male-only war or female-only war evolved in our model depended only on the initial question of which sex was more likely to go to war to start with.</p>
<p>So, if both outcomes are equally plausible, why is warfare in fact almost exclusively male? Our study also suggests that male competition over mates and resources – an aspect of what biologists call <a href="https://theconversation.com/male-female-ah-whats-the-difference-12786">sexual selection</a> – might have caused men to evolve to be generally more aggressive than women. This was probably enough to make men more likely to go to war from the outset. And our model explains why this would ultimately lead to male-only war parties. Greater physical strength, together with lower costs and higher genetic links to the rest of the group, may have then helped reinforce this pattern.</p>
<p>But initial conditions could have – in theory – been different. Had women been naturally more aggressive, they would have become the warring sex and we would now live in a world of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-truth-about-the-amazons-the-real-wonder-women-78248">Amazon-like</a> female-only wars. Interestingly, this is the case in some other animal societies that engage in inter-group conflicts. In <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1439-0310.2001.00672.x">spotted hyenas</a>, for example, only females attack other packs.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231886/original/file-20180814-2903-1ngk5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231886/original/file-20180814-2903-1ngk5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231886/original/file-20180814-2903-1ngk5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231886/original/file-20180814-2903-1ngk5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231886/original/file-20180814-2903-1ngk5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231886/original/file-20180814-2903-1ngk5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231886/original/file-20180814-2903-1ngk5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women in combat roles are increasingly common.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/soldier-his-wife-battlefield-area-311412740?src=JD5GFNONO04KdM4GaZ4-JA-1-11">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The past and the future of war</h2>
<p>One implication of our study is that past ecological conditions can have very long-lasting effects. The evolution of men as the more aggressive of the sexes led to a pattern of male-dominated warfare that was unlikely to be altered by changing technological or ecological forces.</p>
<p>Consider the role of weapons, for example. When warfare initially evolved, men were likely more aggressive and might have been more effective at fighting, because primitive weapons relied on brute force. As a result, they went on to become the warring sex. Later, inventions such as the bow and arrow made physical sex differences in strength less important. In more recent times, further technological advances have effectively equalised men and women in their ability to fight opponents. But, as male-only war has already evolved, these technological changes have little or no impact. Only initial conditions matter.</p>
<p>As such, this long-lasting effect of ancestral behavioural differences might help explain why women’s presence in the armed forces today is still limited. Yet, perhaps culture is now having a greater role, at least partially overriding the biological basis for exclusively male warfare. The countries that have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/01/25/map-which-countries-allow-women-in-front-line-combat-roles/?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.bc047df850bd">opened military combat roles</a> to women in response <a href="https://theconversation.com/eight-myths-about-women-on-the-military-frontline-and-why-we-shouldnt-believe-them-55594">to changing attitudes</a>, and the recent reports of <a href="https://theconversation.com/kurdish-troops-fight-for-freedom-and-womens-equality-on-battlegrounds-across-middle-east-91364">Kurdish women fighting Islamic State</a> are testaments to that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101473/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alberto J. C. Micheletti receives funding from School of Biology, University of St Andrews (PhD studentship). </span></em></p>Men have come to dominate military combat but new evidence suggests this might be more an accident than an inevitability of evolution.Alberto Micheletti, PhD Candidate in Evolutionary Biology, University of St AndrewsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1006032018-08-08T20:08:34Z2018-08-08T20:08:34ZWhy some veterans feel alienated on campus and how universities can help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230522/original/file-20180803-41338-1n6r7m8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;rect=3%2C0%2C1019%2C680&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Discipline, leadership and time management are some of the positives veterans say they bring to their studies. But not everyone has a chance to demonstrate these.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/44693311@N05/15892238135/in/photolist-qdkSHM-ha2Ag6-9pZycd-ar5aZd-nLkeWE-aikuZT-bRxfra-bX314o-bRxhS6-aiouvL-ar3LHs-9pYPdY-8g3nSc-UvJ6r7-8UxkpF-ar3wmL-ar2TTi-ht7dBp-7HVkvw-9wbG1B-pVUu4i-ar2uei-aUyvXM-bX2Esb-ar1qip-azjskM-9obcus-rc1Qtv-mJXUqJ-7mWFLM-28Z7vwc-nmdj86-hzuMH5-5xE5gj-aUyvRD-9pM58L-TatzfX-htCYa6-7zG9o4-8e2akB-aAx7Fp-p6ABHm-21Fgy3W-pFLBKn-nyg9Wo-8Vm6FG-d1ibP-bAGhA3-aHpmFP-8ViAgD">rekrsoldier/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Some veterans say they find campus alienating, don’t feel they belong and fail to disclose their military status when they enrol, according to one of the first snapshots of Australian veterans’ experience of university.</p>
<p>While most veterans <a href="https://www.latrobe.edu.au/cheedr/publications">we surveyed</a> were satisfied with their university experience, our research highlights what universities need to do to better, from admission to completion. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/six-ways-to-improve-equity-in-australian-universities-61437">Six ways to improve equity in Australian universities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why this matters</h2>
<p>The transition to civilian life is often difficult for the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/VeteranSuicide/Report/c06">5500 or so</a> military veterans discharged from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) each year.</p>
<p>As the <a href="https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/minister/marise-payne/media-releases/safer-australia-budget-2018-19-defence-overview">defence budget</a> climbs towards 2% of GDP, more young veterans will transition to civilian life. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/bringing-the-war-home-the-rising-disability-claims-of-afghanistan-war-vets-56021">Bringing the war home: the rising disability claims of Afghanistan war vets</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Veterans face relatively high rates of <a href="https://create.piktochart.com/output/21845816-veteran-employment-report-final-conflict-copy">unemployment</a>, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/VeteranSuicide/Report">disability and mental health risks</a>. One pathway to new careers and financial independence is through higher education. </p>
<p>The Australian Department of Education and Training collects no specific data on the number of veterans enrolled in higher education or their success, retention and outcomes.</p>
<p>We surveyed 240 university student veterans with the <a href="http://www.asva.org.au/">Australian Student Veterans Association</a>. </p>
<p>Most were in their 30s or 40s, male and about one-third had a disability, impairment or long-term medical condition that may affect their studies.</p>
<h2>Access is the first hurdle</h2>
<p>Although many veterans earn both military and civilian qualifications from their military service, including diploma-level awards, few universities provide credit for these.</p>
<p>Veterans are not considered one of the <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/node/45221">six equity groups</a> in Australian higher education. They typically receive no admission bonus points, special consideration, or recognition of prior learning for their service.</p>
<p>An exception is <a href="https://www.qtac.edu.au/">Queensland</a>, where all universities agree to equate military service to an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR). Under this system, different types/length of military service are given entrance ranks.</p>
<p>We also found that veterans were unlikely to: feel prepared for study; receive support from their institutions to settle into study; or see orientation activities as relevant and helpful.</p>
<h2>What does success look like?</h2>
<p>Once enrolled, most student veterans surveyed felt positive about university life. 94% would recommend university to other veterans. </p>
<p>One respondent noted:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>University is very challenging and gives you a huge sense of achievement when you finish. Also helps you move forward and realise that your military service doesn’t necessarily define you.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Veterans also identified strengths they brought to study. These included discipline, leadership and time management. These skills were perceived as central to academic success, particularly given student veterans are relatively likely to have family responsibilities and/or a disability.</p>
<p>The presence of student veterans on campus can also benefit other students. As one student noted:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… the skills and attributes developed in the ADF will make you very competitive at an academic institution. The values and life experience you bring will also benefit all around you.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Isolated and unappreciated</h2>
<p>Despite these strengths, many student veterans do not feel a sense of belonging on campus. Some of our respondents felt isolated, and many felt university culture was not respectful or appreciative of military service. Only one third of respondents disclosed their military status to their institution.</p>
<p>One fifth of respondents were not comfortable discussing their military experience at university. Nearly one third felt their university was not “veteran friendly”. One student advised:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(Try) not to get involved with political conversations as many students who haven’t served, and haven’t seen the world, hold very immature viewpoints and don’t understand how veterans think.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>What can we do better?</h2>
<p>Universities could recognise military service at admission. Institutions could work with tertiary admissions centres to equate service to ATAR levels, as agreed by the Queensland universities. This process alone would lead to a substantial increase in student numbers. </p>
<p>More broadly, universities could introduce financial support for student veterans, including bursaries, fee waivers and scholarships. Identifying veterans on university enrolment forms would enable demographic, success, and completions data to be collected.</p>
<p>The Australian Student Veterans Association has chapters on several university campuses. Expanding those chapters and other support groups would provide valuable resources and peer networks. Better promotion of disability services, counselling and other services would also help.</p>
<h2>Let’s harness diversity</h2>
<p>Our research confirms that veterans often enter university with life experiences, strengths, and perspectives different from those of other students (and staff). </p>
<p>This diversity can create high social and academic value. A diverse student body can provide a <a href="https://www.aacu.org/publications-research/publications/making-diversity-work-campus-research-based-perspective">stimulating and creative intellectual environment</a>. As such, it has the potential to improve the university experience of all students.</p>
<h2>Invest for the future</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/forevergibill.asp">US</a>, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/enhanced-learning-credits-further-and-higher-education-scheme-changes">UK</a> and <a href="http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/services/transition/education-training-benefit">Canada</a> all invest significant resources in supporting military veterans to access and succeed at university.</p>
<p>This investment has been shown to have financial benefits overseas. For instance, US veterans with bachelor degrees earn an average <a href="https://ivmf.syracuse.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/I-AM-A-POST-911-Student-Veteran-REPORT.pdf">US$17,000 more each year</a> than their non-veteran counterparts.</p>
<p>Similar benefits are likely in Australia given the <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/graduate-winners-assessing-the-public-and-private-benefits-of-higher-education/">typical financial advantage</a> of graduates.</p>
<p>But more than a financial gain for individual veterans, access to and success at university for veterans is an equity issue. </p>
<p>The difficulties of transition to civilian life are well documented. By accepting more veterans, universities could assist this transition while simultaneously improving the learning experience of all students. </p>
<p>Higher education should be accessible to those who have served in the defence of the nation.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The authors wish to acknowledge advice and support from Matthew Sharp, co-founder of the Australian Student Veterans Association, and Matthew Wyatt-Smith, CEO, Australian Student Veterans Association.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100603/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Harvey received funding from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs through the Supporting Younger Veterans grant program.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Andrewartha received funding from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs through the Supporting Younger Veterans grant program.</span></em></p>While many military veterans do well on campus, not everyone feels welcome or their views matter. Here's what universities can do better.Andrew Harvey, Director, Centre for Higher Education Equity and Diversity Research, La Trobe UniversityLisa Andrewartha, Senior Research Officer and Senior Project Coordinator, Centre for Higher Education Equity and Diversity Research, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/996872018-07-20T05:48:42Z2018-07-20T05:48:42ZBattle scars reveal the life of 'Mephisto', a WW1 German tank from a century ago<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228538/original/file-20180720-142426-winr49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mephisto after its capture in France by the Australian 26th Battalion.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Queensland Museum</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What can we possibly learn from the archaeological study of a World War I battle tank? Quite a lot, it turns out, when the attention is devoted to a rare German-built A7V Sturmpanzerwagen tank known as Mephisto.</p>
<p>The tank was originally collected as a war trophy by a Queensland based battalion in July 1918, brought to Brisbane the following year and now <a href="http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Histories+of+Queensland/Conflict/Mephisto">held by Queensland Museum</a>. One hundred years to the month since its recovery, it is the last of its kind in the world.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/we-cant-see-the-war-for-the-memorials-balancing-education-and-commemoration-62689">We can't see the war for the memorials: balancing education and commemoration</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>On close inspection it is clear that this metallic monster is in far from pristine condition and covered in battle damage. Mephisto saw a lot of action during the battle for <a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E105">Villers-Bretonneux</a> in northern France a century ago.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228346/original/file-20180719-142438-zzb7xw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228346/original/file-20180719-142438-zzb7xw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228346/original/file-20180719-142438-zzb7xw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228346/original/file-20180719-142438-zzb7xw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228346/original/file-20180719-142438-zzb7xw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228346/original/file-20180719-142438-zzb7xw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228346/original/file-20180719-142438-zzb7xw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228346/original/file-20180719-142438-zzb7xw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The A7V Sturmpanzerwagen Mephisto in transit at the Ipswich Railway Works Museum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael Westaway</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Investigation of war relic</h2>
<p>The story of the tank is now told in a new publication, Mephisto: Technology, War and Remembrance, that recounts its history and technological development, and places it in the context of the so-called “War to end all wars”.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228379/original/file-20180719-142408-t5uxtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228379/original/file-20180719-142408-t5uxtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=699&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228379/original/file-20180719-142408-t5uxtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=699&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228379/original/file-20180719-142408-t5uxtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=699&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228379/original/file-20180719-142408-t5uxtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=878&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228379/original/file-20180719-142408-t5uxtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=878&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228379/original/file-20180719-142408-t5uxtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=878&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mephisto: Technology, War and Remembrance, by Greg Czechura and Jeff Hopkins-Weise.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Queensland Museum</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Together with our colleagues, we have attempted to reconstruct something of Mephisto’s role in its final battle. </p>
<p>To make sense of various gunshot and shrapnel impacts, the Queensland Police and Ballistic Bomb Blast Unit and the Defence Science &amp; Technology Group (DSTG) provided their technical skills to help explain the damage to the tank.</p>
<p>It became clear that a large amount of small arms fire was thrown at the vehicle in an attempt to halt its advance. There is evidence of very close-quarter fighting, with several attempts to disable the vehicle. </p>
<p>The QP Ballistics team identified a .303 armour piercing round wedged in the armour next to a machine gun port. It seems that a soldier was attempting to disable one of Mephisto’s eight machine guns by shooting its water jacket. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228344/original/file-20180719-142417-wr4o9a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228344/original/file-20180719-142417-wr4o9a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228344/original/file-20180719-142417-wr4o9a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228344/original/file-20180719-142417-wr4o9a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228344/original/file-20180719-142417-wr4o9a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228344/original/file-20180719-142417-wr4o9a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228344/original/file-20180719-142417-wr4o9a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228344/original/file-20180719-142417-wr4o9a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Queensland Police ballistics measuring the trajectory and angle of an armour piercing round fired at one of Mephisto’s eight maxim machine guns.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael Westaway</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A series of well-aimed, short machine gun bursts were fired at one of the tank’s exhaust ports. Much of the damage occurred on the left side of the tank which from reconnaissance photos taken after the battle show the position of the allied trenches located parallel to the tank. </p>
<p>There is also evidence of a larger-calibre weapon that was brought into use against the tank, perhaps a French 37mm weapon, which simply ricocheted off Mephisto’s thick armour.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228534/original/file-20180720-142432-jadn1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228534/original/file-20180720-142432-jadn1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228534/original/file-20180720-142432-jadn1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=401&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228534/original/file-20180720-142432-jadn1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=401&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228534/original/file-20180720-142432-jadn1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=401&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228534/original/file-20180720-142432-jadn1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=504&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228534/original/file-20180720-142432-jadn1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=504&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228534/original/file-20180720-142432-jadn1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=504&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Large calibre impact strikes on Mephisto, possibly made by a French 35mm gun.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Queensland Museum, Gary Cranitch</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Further research is required to clarify the exact meaning of the use of this larger-calibre weapon. Initial work by DSTG has reconstructed the angle the tank rested in when it finally became stuck when it ran into a shell crater. </p>
<h2>Close combat with a tank</h2>
<p>Very close fighting was associated with the vehicle, and the battle damage reveals something of the terror that the defending English soldiers must have endured on the morning of April 24, 1918. </p>
<p>The destruction of the vehicle was revealed by QP bomb blast experts. Two different explosions were recorded in the twisted armour of the forward compartment of the tank. </p>
<p>Historical evidence has suggested that the German crew set off a charge to disable their vehicle, but the primary impact appears to have burst through the roof, the force bending the heavy steel support beams downward.</p>
<p>This blast created something of a chain reaction, and would have generated a temperature of between 3,000℃ and 4,000℃. It initiated a further explosion by igniting any munitions still within the tank.</p>
<p>The perfect impression of one of Mephisto’s own 57mm shells is blasted through the floor plating next to the main forward gun. </p>
<p>In turn, this projectile hit the ground beneath Mephisto, sending shrapnel back up through the plating on the underside of the tank. This generated several impacts in the metal directed back inside the forward compartment.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228345/original/file-20180719-142417-y0sbrl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228345/original/file-20180719-142417-y0sbrl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228345/original/file-20180719-142417-y0sbrl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228345/original/file-20180719-142417-y0sbrl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228345/original/file-20180719-142417-y0sbrl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228345/original/file-20180719-142417-y0sbrl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228345/original/file-20180719-142417-y0sbrl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228345/original/file-20180719-142417-y0sbrl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The damage to the forward compartment of Mephisto can be seen here, taken during the conservation treatment after the 2011 Brisbane floods.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael Westaway</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that a fusillade of small arms fire was hurled at Mephisto as it trundled, at speeds never more than 6–8mph (9-13kmh), towards the Allied positions at Villers-Bretonneux and Monument Wood.</p>
<p>As much of the damage is recorded on the left side of the tank it is probable that most of the impacts occurred during this final assault and not at its previous action at St Quentin. The tank sat for three months in No Man’s Land and continued to receive small arms and shrapnel damage while it was disabled. </p>
<h2>A lasting legacy of war</h2>
<p>A study such as this by no means rewrites our understanding of the conflict, but as the sole surviving A7V, this battered artefact does provide unique insights into the events that took place on the battlefields of Europe 100 years ago.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="http://theconversation.com/dinky-di-aussies-how-slanguage-helped-form-a-new-national-identity-56145">Dinky-di Aussies: how slanguage helped form a new national identity</a>
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<p>Investigating artefacts in this manner transforms them. They become something more than just a curious object from the past, and indeed can emerge as an important, silent witness to historic events.</p>
<p>A tangible object such as Mephisto, in trying to make sense of the battle damage to the vehicle, transcends the insights revealed in the pages of written history.</p>
<p>It highlights the horror of trench warfare and provides first-hand accounts of how the British infantry tried to stop an enemy tank.</p>
<p>Mephisto is a rare and important example of developing military technology in the early 20th century. As the last surviving German tank from the First World War it will once again be on display at Queensland Museum from November 11, 2018.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228537/original/file-20180720-142423-16oncwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228537/original/file-20180720-142423-16oncwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228537/original/file-20180720-142423-16oncwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=385&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228537/original/file-20180720-142423-16oncwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=385&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228537/original/file-20180720-142423-16oncwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=385&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228537/original/file-20180720-142423-16oncwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=484&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228537/original/file-20180720-142423-16oncwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=484&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228537/original/file-20180720-142423-16oncwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=484&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Side profile view of Mephisto at the 5th Tank Brigade’s Demonstration Ground at Vaux-en-Amienois.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Queensland Museum</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p><em><a href="http://www.shop.qm.qld.gov.au/default/mephisto-technology-war-and-remembrance-paperback-edition.html">Mephisto: Technology, War and Remembrance</a>, written by Greg Czechura and Jeff Hopkins-Weise, published by Queensland Museum. Price A$59.95</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99687/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Westaway receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He contributed an essay to the new book Mephisto: Technology, War and Remembrance.</span></em></p>One hundred years after its capture from the battle fields of France, the last German battle tank of its kind is giving up its secrets to archeologists and forensic analysis.Michael Westaway, Senior Research Fellow, Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.